Description

SS 90 NW BICKLEIGH 5/8 Old Court 24.10.51 GV II* House, formerly south range of courtyard complex at Bickleigh Castle. Circa early C16 with late C16/C17 remodelling, C19 addition and renovations of the 1930s. Local volcanic stone rubble with some stone dressings ; wooden shingle roof, gabled at ends (formerly thatched) ; front lateral stack to left of centre with tall stone shaft, axial stack. The right gable end is weather-boarded. Plan: Evidently a survival from a larger building which may have been linked to the gatehouse of Bickleigh Castle (q.v.). There is evidence that the present range originally extended further to the right (east) and may also have had a front left wing at right angles to it. The present arrangement is a single depth main range, 2 large rooms, with a through passage between the rooms. A gabled rear wing, at right angles to the main range, is a C19 rebuilding or addition, forming an overall T plan. A lower-roofed building, adjoins at the left end. The surviving building was originally an open hall of high quality. The precise extent of the hall is not clear ; there is smoke-blackening on the main trusses on either side of the axial stack but the use of wood preservative and some replacement timbers make it difficult to establish whether the roof was open from end to end of the present range. The flooring over occured in the late C16/early C17, possibly in 2 phases. The right hand room, heated from the axial stack was probably used as a kitchen, the function of the left end room is less clear : the room above it was a grand first floor chamber with an axial corridor behind it. The present through passage is narrow and it is not clear whether it is part of the original arrangement. Colonel Henson, the owner of Bickleigh Castle in the 1930s was probably responsible for most of the stone-dressed windows on the ground floor. 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4 window front with 2 moulded stone 2-centred doorways on the front, 1 leading into the through passage ; the second, to the right, blocked and replaced by a window. The stump of a crosswall at the left end and wall foundations uncovered recently (1986) suggest the possibility of a missing wing at right angles to the front at the left. 4 ground floor 1, 2 and 3-light ground floor stone windows with trefoil-headed lights. Four 3-light timber first floor windows with diamond leaded panes, mostly renewed except for the first from the right which has a moulded frame and mullions. The rear elevation shows considerable signs of rebuilding. There is a chamfered round-headed C16 timber doorway, probably re-sited, to the lower-roofed block at the rear. The rear wing has C19 Gothic 3-light casements with arched heads. Interior: Roof: The remains of 5 arch braced jointed cruck trusses with cranked collars, 3 tiers of threaded purlins diagonally set ridge and wind braces. There is a strengthening piece below the ridge. The trusses are not complete and new rafters have been added. The top of a former screen projects into the roof to the right of the axial stack, the left hand truss was formerly closed. The truss immediately to the left of the stack is puzzling. It has no arched braces but never seems to have been closed. On the ground floor the right hand room, with a very high ceiling, has 2 massive cross beams with chamfers and runout stops. The open fireplace to the axial stack is massive, with ashlar jambs and a lintel that extends over the present doorway into the passage, the right hand jamb has been moved to the left. The left hand room has a small open fireplace to the lateral stack and 2 massive unchamfered cross beams. On the first floor above this room a grand chamber has the remnants of a plaster cornice and 1 cross beam and 2 half beams with chamfers and scroll stops. The Beerstone fireplace has hollow-chamfered jambs and lintel. The stud partition wall at the left end of this room has a moulded doorframe (doorway blocked) with scroll stops leading into a small room at the left end of the range. This small room has the remains of a fireplace, blocked behind the wall plaster, and traces of painted plaster were found during renovations and are in the possession of the owners. The axial corridor on the first floor has a large niche in the rear wall which may have been garderobe. A high status house, formerly part of the Bickleigh Castle complex, although its original function is difficult to determine from the architectural detail. If it were the hall range its position, to the south of the gatehouse range would be very unusual.

Listing NGR: SS9363906772

External Links

• Wikidata Q17548129

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