Kerris Manor Farmhouse Including Front Garden Walls And Rear Courtyard Walls

Kerris Manor Farmhouse, including front garden walls and rear courtyard walls, is a Grade II* listed manor farmhouse of 17th-century date, possibly incorporating earlier walls. The building was substantially remodelled at the front in 1721 for Richard Pearce (commemorated by a datestone over the doorway) and extended during the 18th century.

The house is constructed of granite ashlar to the front elevation, with granite moorstone rubble and granite dressings to the remaining facades. The roof is covered with scantle slate, featuring gable ends. The original gable-end stacks are axial and lateral, built of dressed granite with moulded tops. Late 19th or early 20th-century pierced crested clay ridge tiles are present.

The building is arranged around a rectangular courtyard with a short projecting wing set back on the left-hand side. The front (east) range, substantially rebuilt in 1721, contains a large parlour on the left, a similarly sized room (now kitchen) on the right, and a large central hall with an externally projecting stair and fireplace at its rear. The front wall of the rear (west) range continues at either side of the courtyard and represents one of the oldest surviving parts of the structure. A through passage with front and rear doorways is positioned to the left of the middle. The L-shaped range on the left (south) of the courtyard retains many 17th-century features. The right-hand (north) range contains a small service room with an axial through passage behind, featuring a 17th-century opening on its right. A stair beside the fireplace is located in the front right-hand room.

Externally, the house presents two storeys with a symmetrical seven-window east front and central doorway. The second from the left first-floor window opening and the window opening over the doorway are now blocked. The 18th-century six-panel door has its top four panels later glazed. Two 18th-century sashes with thick glazing bars sit to the right of the doorway; the remaining windows are circa early 19th-century twelve-pane sashes with some later copies, all in original openings. Ground-floor openings have incised lintels designed to resemble flat arches with voussoirs. A later lean-to extension is present on the left.

The north courtyard front of the south range displays a 17th-century three-light freestone or elvan hollow-chamfered mullioned window to the first floor. The west front of the rear range features a 17th-century chamfered doorway left of the courtyard front, a blocked opening to the first floor on the left, and a blocked chamfered mullioned window to the ground floor on the right (within the north range).

Interior features of significance include a complete panelled parlour in the front range with bolection mouldings and moulded cornice (repaired in 1987 following fire), ovolo-moulded panelling and moulded cornice to the rear wall of the hall to the left of the stair, and numerous doors with fielded panels and an eared chimneypiece in the left-hand chamber. The stair features a closed string and heavy turned balusters and appears to date to circa late 17th century. The range set back on the left contains 17th-century chamfered windows in the front, left-hand and rear walls. The left-hand range and rear range feature 17th-century chamfered and stopped ceiling beams. Many features remain uninspected or hidden, and roof structures were not inspected.

The front garden is enclosed by granite-coped rubble walls forming a rectangular enclosure. A gateway aligned with the house doorway is flanked by gate-piers of reused dressed masonry, which are integral with the garden walls. The piers are topped with large chamfered caps and ball finials. The rear courtyard walls, built of granite rubble, enclose two yards and are taller than the front walls. A 17th-century chamfered doorway, partly fallen, is located near the rear left-hand corner of the house.

Historically, Kerris was held in three separate ownerships until 1694, when Richard Pearce consolidated the properties. His son Richard (1693-1753) undertook the major alteration completed in 1721. In 1743, Richard Pearce and his wife Maria were declared bankrupt, and John Hawkins subsequently came into possession of the property. Kerris Manor Farmhouse occupies an ancient site set within a coastal landscape rich in prehistoric remains, including the unique Roundago nearby.