Riviere House

HAYLE PHILLACK SW 5638-5738 9/147 Riviere House 27.6.1984 GV II House. 1791. Built for John Edwards, the manager of The Cornish Copper Company. Stuccoed entrance front, slatehanging to garden front, otherwise killas and granite rubble with granite dressings and copper slag blocks to basement and to circa 1800 extension. Hipped grouted scantle slate roofs with wide bracketted eaves there is a tradition that the roof was originally copper. Cast-iron ogee gutters. Brick chimneys over the front wall, left and original rear wall, left and right. Plan: Rectangular double depth plan plus 2-room-plan service wing. or offices added to rear circa 1800. Central entrance hall leading to service stair at rear and main stair hall behind the right hand room (probably originally a study); reception rooms to garden front on left and original kitchen behind main stair hall. Exterior: 3-storeys over cellar. Symmetrical 3-window north east front with central doorway. Granite ashlar plinth; stucco eaves cornice to bracketted eaves soffit. Original 6-panel door and fanlight. C19 distyle Tuscan porch with original entablature but columns replaced C20. Tall window opening to ground and first floors, shorter windows to second floor. Window openings left and right of doorway are blind. Original 12-pane sash over doorway, horned replacement above. Most windows of the house are original hornless sashes with glazing bars. Symmetrical 3 window south-east garden front has all its original sashes and is completely slate-hung. North-west elevation has tall central stair sash over a cellar entrance. Right of the cellar entrance is a canted bay window with polygonal roof. Rear is a lower 2-storey 3 window front with central doorway and pair of hipped roofs with service stair window of original house set back between. Copper slag blocks to front and left, slatehanging to right-hand side. Mostly original sashes. Interior: Virtually complete with most of its original features including: stair with moulded handrail running over square moulded newel cap (possibly later rectangular balusters); panelled doors; panelled window shutters; moulded ceiling cornices and some old chimney pieces. At the time when John Edwards occupied Riviere House there is a recorded incident of when Davies Gilbert (of Tredrea, St Erth q.v.) took the young Humphry Davy to the house, where he saw for the first time, a well equipped laboratory including apparatus which he had previously seen only in engravings. Davy expressed his "tumultuous delight" and worked an air pump" with the simplicity and joy of a child engaged in the examination of a new and favourite toy". The next resident of Riviere House was Joseph Carne, F.R.S. (see Carne tomb, Phillack, q.v.). Sources: Old Cornwall article Vol. IX No 3 Autumn - 1980, by Brian Sullivan. Riviere House was in early C20 the home of Compton McKenzie.

Listing NGR: SW5624038097