Alverton Manor Hotel

This large building complex, now a hotel, began as a mid-19th century house built for a Mr Tweedy. It was arranged as a north-south range with a hall to the west. Around 1880, the house was converted into a convent for the Sisters of the Epiphany (Church of England). During this conversion, the hall became a chapel, a bell tower and new main entrance were added to the original entrance, and the first-floor rooms of the north-south range were subdivided into cells.

In 1903-1904, E H Sedding of Plymouth added a north wing in a free Gothic style to provide additional accommodation for the nuns. Between 1908 and 1910, Sedding built a new chapel to the south in the Early English style, creating a V-shaped plan with the north-south range and north wing. A west wing in a free Tudor style, linked to the north-south range at first-floor level, is probably contemporary with the new chapel and may also be by Sedding.

The walls are of coursed, dressed and rubble local shale with brick and Bath stone dressings, some granite plinths, and some rendered rear walls. The roofs are of Delabole slate.

South Entrance Façade

The main entrance stands to the left of the chapel, with a bell and clock tower topped by an octagonal belfry with an embattled parapet. A staircase turret rises on the left-hand side, and a single-storey slype (covered passage) with linked lancets appears on the right. Angle buttresses have set-offs and moulded plinths. The wide two-centred arched entrance contains double boarded doors. Above the door is a blocked opening, and higher still a cinquefoil-headed two-light window in a two-centred arch with hood mould.

The single-storey hall range to the left has an embattled mullioned and transomed bay window, moulded coping and plinth. A cross finial was added when the hall was converted to a chapel.

Interior of Hall

The hall has a five-bay canted roof with moulded main timbers carried on moulded and carved corbels. The wallplate is carved with shields. Two contemporary doors have architraved doorcases; a third doorway has been replaced by a two-centred arched door into a cupboard. A panelled timber dado runs along the walls. The bay window to the south has outer timber columns with bell capitals and an inner timber arch carried on moulded and carved corbels, with deep, heavily moulded inner timber mullions. The stained glass by the Hardman Company, with a memorial date of 1889, fills all lights of the bay. Angels appear in the six panels above the transom, with the Presentation in the Temple below.

North-South Range

This range has two storeys with an attic. The asymmetrical front has four gables, two with stone coping and two with wooden eaves and barge boards, and six stacks of rendered brick. A single-storey embattled bay window range to the north has two linked bays with plain parapet, and a first-floor bay window to the south.

The first floor has three three-light casements in deeply moulded and chamfered architraves, repeated six times with transoms to the north in plain chamfered architraves. The first-floor bay window is canted with plain parapet and transomed casements. The ground-floor windows comprise seven mullioned and transomed casements with chamfered architraves and flat toggled arches.

Interior of North-South Range

The present entrance below the clock tower leads to a vestibule before the original entrance to the mid-19th century house. This has a Perpendicular-style archway with hood mould and pomegranate label stops. Beyond this, leading into the stair hall, is a glazed wooden internal doorway with flanking lights, all retaining contemporary foliate grisaille glazing. The Gothic staircase has panelled newels and Gothic pierced balusters. Contemporary fleur-de-lis stencilling, now painted over, decorates the stair hall and stair well. On the first-floor landing is a Gothic-arched recess.

The principal rooms of the mid-19th century house remain intact on the ground floor. The southern rooms in the range have marble fireplace surrounds; at the northern end are moulded timber fireplace surrounds contemporary with those in the north wing.

North Range

Built against the east-west slope of the land, this range has two storeys with an attic and a buttressed basement to the east. The south-facing asymmetrical elevation has a hipped roof with a gabled projection to the west. The main entrance on the front at the west sits below a semi-octagonal corbelled oriel projection for a stair turret. The main entrance has a two-centred arch and dripmould, with a panelled door. The basement entrance to the east has a two-centred arch and panelled door.

The bay window in the gabled projection has four mullioned and transomed lights. A long bay window to the right of the gabled projection has nine plus five mullioned and transomed lights. Two trefoil-headed three-light windows flank the buttress. The first-floor windows are six one-, two- and three-light casements. The attic storey has a three-light casement to the gabled projection, a three-light casement to a gable dormer to the east, and timber casements to three roof dormers.

Interior of North Range

The main entrance leads to a staircase with two timber depressed arches on freestanding columns. The right-hand arch leads to the north-south range; the left leads to the staircase proper, giving access to the north range. The staircase has newels with Arts and Crafts finials and closely-spaced turned balusters. The upper floor and attic were used for conventual cells, most with corner fireplaces. The principal floor and basement were used for offices, with segmental internal arches before the windows on the principal floor.

Chapel

Built in 1908-1910 by E H Sedding of Plymouth, the chapel is of rusticated local shale with ashlar dressings and plain ashlar parapets. The slate roof is hipped at the west end. Built against the east-west slope of the land, the Early English style chapel has a five-sided apsidal east end with undercroft, a five-bay nave, a south-east vestry with basement, a one-bay north projection, and a polygonal projecting north stair turret to the undercroft. A polygonal slype at the north-west may be a later addition.

Buttresses to the nave and apse have set-offs; angle buttresses with set-offs appear on the vestry and projection. Single lancet windows under hood moulds light the four westernmost bays of the nave and five bays of the apse, with a similar lancet on the west return of the projection. Triple lancets light the undercroft. Single lancets light the vestry, with painted lancets to the vestry basement. Moulded strings run below the parapet and sill level. The parapet has a moulded cornice. The chamfered arched west doorway with hood mould is carried on polygonal engaged shafts. An arched doorway into the slype sits under a square-headed hood mould, with a single lancet to the right of the slype door and triple lancet above. The undercroft window on the north side has five lancets slightly recessed under a segmental moulded arch. A chamfered arched doorway leads into the undercroft on the north side.

Interior of Chapel

The vaulted stone roof has quadripartite bays and moulded ribs carried on columns engaged below sill level and detached above. The columns have moulded bases and three shafts with bed mouldings between. A large carved stone boss in the apse depicts the Adoration. The coved west gallery has a timber-panelled frontal with some linenfold panelling. A tall arch leads into the north projection, which has a vaulted stone roof. White marble steps lead up to the east end, with one step chequered with black marble. A trefoil-headed piscina is carried on detached shafts.

The south windows in the nave have plain glass with leaded panes. Three north windows and the apse windows are by Kempe and Tower. The north windows illustrate scenes associated with the Epiphany. The five lancets in the apse form a single design of Christ in Majesty. The windows are signed with the wheatsheaf and tower signature of the firm. The north projection contains a Clayton and Bell window and a stone newel stair leading to the undercroft. The slype windows are by the Hardman Company. Some fittings are now at Copeland Court.

West Wing

Linked to the main range at first-floor level by a covered bridge with a slate roof and five-light mullioned window on the south side, the west wing is built against the east-west slope of the land. It has three storeys and basement to the east with buttresses with set-offs, and two storeys and an attic to the west. This asymmetrical block has raking roofs with gabled ends and six stone chimneys, with the chimney to the south in ashlar.

The south elevation is gabled to the west, with a gabled projection at the east. A two-storey canted bay at the east projection has transomed mullioned windows to each storey. A single-storey canted bay window sits immediately to the west of the projection. Other windows are two-light mullioned casements. The main entrance is in the west elevation at left; two basement entrances are on the east side. An external stone stair with curved retaining wall leads from the yard at the north-east to the rear of the west wing.