Lismore

Lismore is a large, detached house located in Helston, built around 1810 and extended in the 1840s, likely by George Wightwick. The exterior is stuccoed on rubble, with a granite plinth and a mid-floor string course; it has dry slate hipped roofs with projecting, moulded eaves featuring dentils. The house follows a double-depth plan, with a service wing set back on the left. The north street front presents a symmetrical three-window facade. It features original 16-pane hornless sash windows, a central round-arched doorway with a six-panel door and a petalled fanlight. The principal, east-facing entrance front incorporates a doorway relocated from No. 21 Meneage Street, displaying fluted Doric columns and a frieze with triglyphs, a door with margin panes, and mostly original 12-pane hornless sash windows. The garden front has original first-floor sash windows and a later 19th-century canted bay to the left. A large, late 19th-century conservatory extends from the ground floor.

The interior retains fine quality early and mid-19th century plasterwork and carpentry details, including moulded and carved bands with trailing detail and egg and dart cornices in the three reception rooms. The two right-hand rooms are linked by an opening with two pairs of Corinthian columns. A good quality chimneypiece is present in the left-hand room, while the right-hand room features an 1840s surround and hob grate, similar to one at Penhellis. The oval stair hall contains an open-well staircase with a scrolled handrail over the newel, and an enriched oval guilloche ceiling band above the stairs. The entrance hall and vestibule (the original entrance hall) feature moulded ceiling bands, a diagonally-set stone floor, and panelled doors and window shutters. The service wing contains various original fittings, including a dresser with fluted pilasters and a moulded cornice. The back stair has a turned newel and stick balusters.

The house’s setting is considered integral to its overall quality and preservation, overlooking a large, well-landscaped garden within the town of Helston and forming part of a group of prominent buildings along Cross Street, Church Street, Lady Street, and Coinagehall Street.