Glynn House

Glynn House

A substantial country house now housing the Glynn Research Institute. The building probably dates from the mid to late 18th century, erected on the foundations of an earlier house. It was rebuilt and refronted for Edmund John Glynn, High Sheriff of Cornwall in 1805. Following fire damage in 1819, further alterations and additions were made around 1833 for Sir Richard Hussey Vivian. Twentieth-century alterations have since been carried out.

The house is constructed of stone rubble, faced in ashlar with granite dressings to the south and west elevations. It has a slate roof with gable ends and axial stacks with rendered shafts.

The building is arranged in an L-plan with the principal rooms positioned along the south (entrance) and west (garden) fronts, while service rooms occupy the north and east sides. A double depth arrangement extends to the south and west, incorporating a stair hall within the inner west range. The south front historically contained, from left to right, a large drawing room, library, entrance hall at centre, study, and smoking room. The west front features an interconnected suite of three rooms: dining room, small drawing room, and large drawing room at the front left corner. To the rear left stood a conservatory and ornamental temple or dairy. The numerous service rooms included a butler's pantry, lamp room, boot hall, billiard room (now demolished), bachelor's bathroom, game larders, pastry room, gun room, still room, kitchen, and scullery.

The entrance front faces south and presents a symmetrical two-storey elevation. It sits on a moulded plinth with deep eaves supported by stone brackets, likely dating from the 1830s. A central bay projects slightly forward and carries an 1830s portico. Pavilions with pediments project at each end. At first floor level, all windows are 9-pane sashes; the ground floor windows are 12-pane sashes with thin glazing bars and stone voussoirs. The portico comprises four Doric columns with a shallow pediment, inner double half-glazed doors, and a fanlight with radial glazing bars. A band course spans the central five bays, with rusticated quoins to the central bay. The outer pavilions feature ground floor 12-pane sashes with sidelights and slender Doric columns beneath a recessed stone arch with an attached central urn; the window in the left pavilion is blind. At first floor, each pavilion has a 12-pane sash and a raised blind oval in the pediment tympanum. A cellar window appears to the left of the portico.

The garden front faces west across two storeys and nine bays. The three central bays project forward and carry a pediment; the ashlar facing differs from the entrance front. The moulded plinth and bracketed eaves match those of the south elevation. All ground floor windows are 15-pane sashes with stone voussoirs and granite keystones. The three central bays are supported by four attached granite Doric columns, possibly added after the 1819 fire, and carry an entablature and pediment with a raised oval. The central ground floor window has been extended as a French window. To the left is attached the remains of a conservatory with four bays divided by square granite piers. At the far left stands an octagonal temple on a plinth, featuring engaged Doric columns at the angles, a cornice, and a panelled blocking course with acroterial ornaments; it now lacks windows and roof. The right end of the main range is blind, with the return carrying a pediment and 12-pane sash at first floor overlooking the service courtyard. The courtyard entrance is marked by a pair of square granite ashlar piers with plain flat caps. A two-storey range to the right contains three plate-glass sashes at first floor and a half-glazed door with hood plus two 9-pane sashes at ground floor. A straight joint marks the transition to an adjoining block at the far right, possibly dating to the mid-18th century. This block features a hipped roof with an axial stack, 12-pane sashes at both ground and first floor with thick glazing bars, and granite quoins. Its rear elevation shows two 20th-century doors and a 12-pane sash at ground floor, with three 9-pane sashes at first floor. The rear of the west range is blind with a pediment. The service range rear has random fenestration comprising sashes throughout, with a bellcote and bell on the roof. A cupola crowns the stair hall.

By the 1950s, extensive dry rot had affected the interior, leaving few original features intact. The large drawing room retains a marble chimneypiece with Ionic columns, while the dining room preserves a marble chimneypiece with fluted columns. Cornices and window shutters have been repaired. The west range contains four ceilings with plasterwork copying designs from Sir Hussey Vivian's Peninsular War medals. The stair hall retains the upper landing of the staircase with turned balusters and moulded handrail. First floor rooms have plain marble chimneypieces.