Little Tregrill And Outbuildings Adjoining To South West

Little Tregrill and Outbuildings

A house with adjoining outbuilding to the south-west, dating from the late 16th century, possibly with earlier origins. The structure was partly remodelled in 1726, as indicated by a datestone inscribed PGA 1726. The building is constructed of stone rubble and cob, rendered and whitewashed, with a slate roof featuring a half hip on the left-hand side, a gable on the right, and a hipped end to a rear projecting wing.

The front elevation presents a large stone rubble lateral hall stack. A rear lateral stack formerly served a service room, though its shaft has been removed. The interior plan originally comprised three rooms and a through passage with a service end on the left. The south-east end was remodelled, possibly in 1726, to form a parlour. The hall to the right was probably originally open before a floor was inserted in circa the early 17th century, introducing a front lateral stack. A staircase projection adjoins the hall fireplace. Beyond this lies an unheated inner room, later becoming a dairy. A rear projecting wing extends beyond the dairy and part of the hall, creating an L-shaped plan; this rear wing may be earlier than the main range. A stair was introduced to this wing in circa the 18th century but was removed in the mid-20th century.

The building stands two storeys with an asymmetrical three-window north-east front. The ground floor features an entrance door to the left of centre, a 19th-century example with margin glazing bars to the two upper lights and panelled below. The projecting lateral stack stands to the right, with an adjoining staircase projection displaying a three-light casement and slate hood. A 20th-century window lights the dairy on the right.

On the first floor, a datestone in a square surround with a shouldered central panel sits above the door in line with the eaves. Two gabled dormers contain centre-hung three-light casements.

Interior Features

The service room on the left of the through passage was probably remodelled in 1726 to form a parlour, retaining moulded early 18th-century plasterwork comprising a heavy cornice extending to two sides of the room, with the remainder now partly blocked. Evidence of a lintel to a blocked fireplace of the rear lateral stack remains visible. The wide through passage contains possible evidence of a blocked door to the rear, now blocked at the rear by a circa 19th-century imperial stair.

The hall features an inserted floor with chamfered ceiling beams and plain stops running across the depth of the building from south-west to north-east. A 19th-century fireplace serves the front lateral stack. To the right of the hall lies an inner unheated room with heavy chamfered ceiling beams, lacking visible stops, running along the building from north-west to south-east.

A unique oak timber screen separates the hall from the inner room, likely dating to the early 17th century. It comprises a series of vertical planks, slightly lapped, with scratch moulds to the right-hand edge and a central vertical cavetto mould. Above the screen on the hall side sits a heavy chamfered bressumer with ogee stops. A 20th-century door has been inserted to the left of the screen.

A circa late 16th or early 17th-century doorframe to the rear wing exhibits a chamfered segmental timber arch with chamfered jambs and mansons mitres. The rear wing itself contains heavy ceiling beams now boxed in, running from north-west to south-east. On the first floor, a circa 17th-century doorcase provides entrance to the rear wing, featuring an ovolo mould with high stops. A plank and muntin screen on the first floor sits directly above the screens of the through passage and is offset above the screen between the hall and inner room. An 18th-century two-panel door is present. Evidence of a staircase turret is visible from a cupboard of the right-hand bedroom, marked by a chamfered lintel and probable small slit opening.

Roof Structure

The roof to the main range comprises eight bays and dates to circa the 18th century, incorporating some reused timbers. A slight chamfer appears to the collars on the hall side, and one principal displays a hole for a threaded purlin. A closed truss sits above the screen between the hall and through passage. The rear wing roof is suggested to contain jointed crucks, though the roof structure was sealed by a plaster ceiling and full inspection was not possible.

Historical Context

Tregrill was a Domesday manor held by Alric before 1066. It was marked by Carew in his survey of Cornwall of 1602 (description of East Hundred). The manor subsequently passed through the hands of the Carminous family, then to the Trelawnys and Hamblys.