Polwhele

Polwhele is a country house that has been converted into a school. It has a core that dates back to the 16th century, but most of the structure was developed in the late 19th century, with references to work in progress in 1814 and improvements made in 1867 according to Lyson. The building is constructed of shale rubble with freestone dressings and features Delabole slate roofs along with granite and shale axial chimneys in the style of the 16th and 17th centuries. The plan is irregular and U-shaped, with late 19th-century additions in the Tudor Gothic style.

Some original 16th-century walling can still be seen in the gable and inner side wall of the west wing, as well as the front wall and central axial wall of the main spine, and possibly the back wall at the west end. Four-centred moulded granite door frames from the 16th century have been relocated to a lean-to at the back and to the kitchen garden wall. The main central entrance features a 19th-century four-centred arched and chamfered granite door frame.

Inside, there is an open well stair with stone treads that are said to have come from Penmount, topped with a painted canopied ceiling adorned with crests from Polwhele marriages. The late 19th-century part of the interior includes plaster ceiling cornices, one of which features fleurons. There is a second open well stair with octagonal balusters and chamfered newel posts. The dining hall is open to a 19th-century arched braced roof structure. In the roof space, against the central chimney wall, there is a plaster shape of an early 17th-century barrel ceiling, with part of an old chimney above it. The mitred purlin ends suggest a 16th-century date.