Giffard House

A former townhouse of 1727-9 (now the presbytery to the Church of St Peter and St Paul), attributed to the architect Francis Smith built for the Giffard family of Chillington Hall for use by the Roman Catholic Church as a priest's house with chapel.

MATERIALS: Constructed in red brick with stone dressings, with a hipped tiled roof with a flat centre and two large brick stacks.

PLAN: Double-depth plan.

EXTERIOR: The main, east front, in Early Georgian style, is three storeys high. It has a five window range with top cornice and quoins. The windows have brick segmental arches with fielded-panelled keys and horned sashes with moulded frames. Those to the ground floor are of 15 panes, to the first floor of 12 panes and to the second floor of 9 panes. The windows to the centre bay are accentuated with architraves and keystones. The central entrance also has an architrave with keystone, and a 6-pane over-light, framing a large 4-fielded-panel door with knocker. The elevation has two rainwater heads with a monogram and the date of 1728, and square down-spouts. The left return has attached chapels belonging to the Church of St Peter and St Paul completed in 1828 to designs by Joseph Ireland, who enlarged the chapel to Giffard House, attached to the rear west of the house. Attached to the right is a c1930s housekeeper's cottage.

INTERIOR: the entrance hall has an elaborate open string stair with fielded dado panelling to the wall and three barley sugar column-on-vase balusters to the tread and a ramped handrail. Carpentry at ground floor level consists of deep skirtings, architraves to the door surrounds and raised and fielded panels to doors and linings. The principal room left of the entrance hall has full height raised and fielded panelling to the walls with boxed shutters to the windows to match. Its fireplace, possibly with later alterations, has a blue and green marble surround with moulded timber shelf. A door at the far end of the room leads into the Church of St Peter and St Paul (listed separately) which is attached to the rear of the house, and incorporates the site of the former chapel to Giffard House. Upper floors not inspected.