Description

KINGSTEIGNTON VICARAGE HILL, Kingsteignton
SX 87 SE
5/161 The Chantry and Elmfield

- II*

Former vicarage, divided into 2. Described by the incumbent, Thomas Whipham, as
"nearly built" in 1821. Circa late C19/early C20 addition at south east, late C20
alterations. Roughcast stone with a thatched roof with 2 gables to the entrance
front; 2 lateral stacks on the south side, stack to central valley.
Described by the Georgian Group as "in its original form this was one of the very
best examples of the cottage orne genre in the country". Approximately square on
plan with corner bows on the garden (west) elevation. 3 rooms wide, 3 rooms deep
around a fine full height oval stair well in the centre with a dome. A small
entrance hall in the centre to the east leads into the stair well and opposite it, in
the centre to the west, is a small sitting room. Flanking the small sitting room are
2 larger principal rooms, oval on plan, probably functioning as a parlour (north) and
dining room (south). These 2 rooms are entered from the stair well but sliding doors
in the north and south walls of the small sitting room allow the possibility of
complete circular access through the stair well and 3 principal west rooms. Access
to the principal east rooms (library to the north, probably kitchen to the south) is
via the entrance hall. Narrow rooms between parlour and library and kitchen and
dining room are of unknown function the latter may have been a butler's pantry. In
the late C19/early C20 a service wing was added at the south east corner, presumably
removing the kitchen to new quarters and upgrading the south east room to an
additional sitting room. The division of the house into 2 has obviously interrupted
the circulating plan, both on the ground floor and on the first floor where an oval
corridor combined with the stair gallery originally gave access to all the first
floor rooms. There has been some loss of interior and exterior features in the
late C20.
2 storeys. Fine 3-bay garden (west) elevation with a thatched verandah, the thatch
of the roof carried round the left and right corner bows, the verandah following
the profile of the elevation and continuing on the north and south returns. Three
2-leaf glazed arched doors on the ground floor with elaborate iron tracery and
stained glass, on the first floor the eaves thatch is eyebrowed over 3 first floor
2-light arched windows with elaborate iron tracery. Cobbles laid in patterns beneath
the verandah which was formerly supported on rustic posts with struts, the rafters
concealed by twisted rustic branches. Most of the posts have been replaced with
squared timber uprights.
3 bay north and south elevations with similar doors and windows, the outer windows
on the first floor are blocked and may always have been false windows. The verandah
is no longer complete on the north and south sides; on the south side it has been
partly removed to accommodate the service wing and altered to incorporate a
conservatory; on the north side the easternmost bays have been filled in in the
1980s with plastic windows and doors.
Interior : 2-leaf timber Gothick arched inner doors to the entrance hall. Splendid
oval stair well with a cantilevered stone stair rising to a stair gallery with cast
iron Gothick balusters. The stair well is paved with stone. Leading into the small
sitting room off the stair well are the paired oak doors of a circa early C16 rood
screen, said to have been removed from Kingsteignton parish church. The tracery
in the doors is filled with painting to imitate stained glass. Plain arched doorways
lead from the stair hall into the parlour and dining room (dining room doorway
blocked). The small sitting room has a C20 chimneypiece (possibly concealing the
original) and tall timber arched sliding doors to north and south with applied
Gothick mouldings, similar mouldings to the shutters. Original marble chimneypieces
with Gothick detail survive in both the parlour (north west) and dining room (south
west), the dining room chimneypiece is extraordinary in being sited immediately
below an original window. Both parlour and dining room have curved panelled doors
and original shutters. Some of the bedrooms are especially attractive with plain
plaster vaulting to the windows.
An outstanding example of a large building in the cottage orne manner combining
fine detail with a plan form derived from an C18 emphasis on showpiece and public
rooms. Unlike an C18 house, however, the garden front with its verandah is separated
from the entrance front, providing seclusion for the garden.
The Diocese of Exeter in 1821: Bishop Carey's Replies to Queens Queries before
Visitation, volume II : Devon, ed. M Cook, Devon and Cornwall Record Society. New
Series, vol 4 (1960).

Listing NGR: SX8746072941

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536183

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)