Murrayton

Murrayton is a private house, now part of a monkey sanctuary, dating to circa 1856, with extensions of 1865, built to the design of William Murray. It is rendered with slate roofs. The house has a triple-gabled front with a lower wing to the left, featuring a gable end. A stair projection is located to the rear with a hipped end, and a further wing extends to the rear with gabled ends. The 1865 wing is situated on the right of the front elevation, characterized by a hipped left-hand end and a gabled right-hand end with a splayed corner. An axial chimney stack is present at the junction of the main range and the lower left-hand wing, with other moulded chimney stacks and a bellcote (originally on the higher right-hand front gabled end, but removed in the 1970s and 1980s).

This is a Gothic cottage ornée of irregular plan, originally containing two reception rooms in the main range, now reduced to one. A stair projection and service wing are located to the rear. The front elevation is asymmetrical and two storeys high with an attic. The triple-gabled front features an increasing height and projection of the gables from left to right. A verandah extends above the ground floor openings across the front and right-hand side elevation, supported by an arcade of timber posts with 4-centred arches and carved spandrels, beneath which is a cobbled pavement. A blocked entrance is visible on the ground floor of the left-hand gable end. The second and third gables retain their original glazed doors, flanked by narrow lights and complete decorative glazing bars. The first floor features unusual fenestration: the first gable on the left has a triple-light opening with a central raised round arch flanked by two rectangular openings; the second gable has an original 4-centred arched opening, and the third gable features an oriel window with a 3-light casement and original honeycombe glazing bars, above which is a 3-light rectangular attic window. The 1865 wing on the right has C20 fenestration on the ground floor and two gabled half-dormers above with original 2-light casements containing 4-centred centre-hung lights. A window, later converted into a door, is located in the right-hand gable end on the first floor, featuring ornate original painted glass and margin glazing, with a datestone above. A 3-light stair window is present on the rear of the main range, retaining its original fenestration. C20 extensions are visible to the rear and on the left-hand side.

The interior of the main range includes complete decorative moulded cornices, a ceiling rose, panelled shutters, a metal pelmet, and a C19 chimney piece. Despite the C20 extensions, Murrayton is a well-preserved good example of Gothic cottage ornée, with the original fenestration and decorative features being particularly important on all elevations.