The Right Round House

The Right Round House is a cottage dating to circa 1820, with later additions. It was built by Hugh Rowe, a Lostwithiel builder, for the Reverend Jeremiah Trist. The construction is of painted render over slatestone rubble and cob, with a conical wheatreed thatched roof, and a lateral stack to the west. Scantle slate covers the north wing. The building's plan is circular, with a single room wing added later. It is two storeys high. An arched doorway, located on the north side, features an original Gothick tympanum, although the doorway now has a 20th-century door, sheltered by a half-dome shaped thatched hood. A monopitch room is situated to the west. A north wing and an adjoining wing to the right of the doorway have a small 20th-century window facing the road. The ground and first floors feature original arched window openings on the east side of the round house, ornamented with stone studded borders. These are now filled with 20th-century small-paned casement windows, with additional windows to the south. The interior retains an open hearth with a bread oven. This is one of five round houses in Veryan, all built by Hugh Rowe for the Reverend Jeremiah Trist, and believed to have been intended for his five daughters. Local tradition suggests the round plan was designed to deter the Devil, but a more likely explanation is economy.