Trerithick And Garden Walls To Front

Trerithick and Garden Walls to Front

House and garden wall to front, built in 1575 and 1585 for John Hecks, with significant remodelling in the early 18th century. The building is constructed of stone rubble with granite dressings, and ashlar stone in the rear wing. The roof is slate with hipped and gable ends. Stone rubble axial, lateral and end stacks, several with original moulded caps, are distributed throughout the structure.

The original arrangement of the house is uncertain, though by the end of the 16th century it appears to have been of considerable size. The main range to the front follows a 3-room and through passage plan, with the lower end heated by an end stack, the hall by a front lateral stack, and the inner room by a stack in the rear wall. A 2-storey porch was added to the front by John Hecks in 1585 (marked by a datestone). To the front left, set at a slight angle, is a 4-room or larger wing which appears to have been built in two phases but is probably of the 17th century. Behind the main range, the house extends further with two ranges forming a courtyard. The wing to the rear of the parlour appears to date from the late 16th century but was probably partly rebuilt above ground floor level in the early 18th century, possibly contemporary with the stair projection adjoining the rear of the hall. This rear wing returns with a second range running parallel to the main range; though now disused, it contains late 16th century dressed granite and originally had a datestone of 1575, now reset in the front wing. The roof structure is largely of the 17th and 18th centuries, and whilst there is considerable documentation of an early house near or on this site, it remains uncertain how early the origins of this building truly are.

The house was remodelled in the early 18th century with fine panelling and staircase.

The exterior presents two storeys. An asymmetrical 5-window front is dominated by a gabled 2-storey porch to the left of centre and a gabled end to the cross wing of the parlour on the right. The 2-storey porch features a roll-moulded 4-centred arch with the inscription "All DO 1585 BY M + IH" carved on the lintel above. Above this is an ovolo-moulded mullion and transom window. Directly to the right stands the hall's front lateral stack, which has a moulded cap. The hall is lit by an ovolo-moulded mullion and transom window with a similar smaller window above. The gable end of the parlour wing has been partly rebuilt with double mullion and transom windows on ground and first floor. To the left, on the lower side of the porch, is a small addition of circa 17th or 18th century date, possibly built as a stair projection and containing an 18th century stair. The wing to the front left has several 17th century mullion and transom windows, and in the end wall is a reset 4-light mullion window with the lintel carved "ANNO DOMINI 1575 BY JOHN HECKS". The courtyard elevation of the rear wing displays dressed stone arches on the ground floor with a moulded string, and is constructed of fine quality ashlar stone on the first floor with dressed stone arches and mullion and transom windows.

The garden wall to the front is of stone rubble with dressed granite, and there is a mounting block on the front left.

The interior is of especially fine quality, containing late 16th and early 18th century features. A late 16th century granite arch occupies the lower side of the passage, with a bolection-moulded screen of circa 1700 on the higher side. The hall displays complete bolection-moulded panelling and a heavy moulded cornice. The parlour and small room to the rear (now a kitchen) are also panelled, and the parlour is heated by a fireplace featuring a fine late 16th century 4-centred arch with carved spandrels. The circa 1700 stair to the rear of the hall has turned balusters and a ramped moulded rail; the dado rail opposite is complete. Several late 16th and 17th century granite chamfered fireplace surrounds and heavy cross beams are present in the rear wing. The roof structure is largely of the 17th and 18th centuries, having been renewed in the 20th century in the wing to the rear, parallel to the main range.