Trewardreva House

Trewardreva House is a country house of mixed date, comprising a remodelled and partly demolished early 18th-century structure built over a circa 1600 core. The house was substantially altered in circa 1936.

The building displays a granite ashlar front elevation, with the remaining elevations constructed of granite rubble with granite dressings. The roof is a scantle slate hipped roof behind a parapet, finished with red clay ridge tiles and some surviving old crested ridge tiles. Granite ashlar axial and end stacks with moulded caps are features of the composition; the axial stack to the right of centre has two very tall hand-turned clay pots.

History and Plan

Trewardreva was the seat of the Rises, Lords of the Manor of Polwheveral. Thomas Rise, son of Roger Rise, built a manor house here around 1600. The property passed by marriage to Thomas Trewren of Drift in Sancreed, who remodelled it comprehensively in 1719, creating the E-shaped plan house that survives today. The original 1719 house was symmetrical, with shallow projecting end wings and a 2-storey porch at the centre. In circa 1860, the house was sold to a farmer, Mr Hearle, who demolished the left hand (west) part of the structure, though not including the central porch. As it now stands, the house forms only the right hand (east) half of the original E-shaped composition.

The existing south-facing house is double depth with three rooms at the front: the porch on the left gives directly into the left hand room (a smaller parlour), the centre contains a parlour, and the right end in the projecting wing holds a larger drawing room. An axial passage runs behind the front rooms, with the main entrance at its left end—created when the left end of the house was demolished. At the back, a room sits to the left, a large open-well staircase to the right of centre with a rear lobby between. A small room occupies the right hand end of the axial passage, behind which a rear service wing was added circa 1936 in the angle with the stairwell.

Exterior

The house is two storeys, with an asymmetrical 1:3:2 window arrangement on the south front. The left hand bay is a 2-storey porch, the right hand bay a projecting wing. The front features a parapet with a moulded granite modillion cornice and granite urns over the corners of the right hand wing, and ball finials over the corners of the left hand porch. The porch has a vestigial gable, its scrolled apex carrying an inverted heart and ball finial. In the gable is a moulded panel inscribed "T.Over T.A." (Thomas and Alice Trewren). The porch features a chamfered 4-centre arch doorway with sunken spandrels and a moulded label; the inner doorway has a moulded frame with an arched head, subsequently cut into for a later square doorframe. Over the outer doorway is a small shield bearing the Rise arms.

The windows at the front are all 12-pane sashes with thin glazing bars. Only the two at the centre of the ground floor and one to the right of the first floor are late 18th century; the others were replaced in the 20th century and have horns. On the first floor of the centre three bays runs a moulded string, which may be reused from the circa 1600 house. Small chamfered window frames either side of the porch are also circa 1600.

The right hand (east) elevation is asymmetrical with one 18th-century 12-pane sash on the ground floor and two 20th-century 12-pane sashes on the first floor either side of a chimney breast with a tablet inscribed "T.Over T.A. 1742". On the ground floor is a glazed garden door with granite steps. To the right sits the side of the circa 1936 two-storey rear wing with a 3-bay symmetrical arrangement of 12-pane sashes and two hipped dormers.

The left hand (west) elevation was originally an internal wall. It now has two half-hipped gables and asymmetrical fenestration of 20th-century 12-pane sashes. To the left of centre is a panelled door with a semi-circular top light and a porch with granite columns; to the right are two small chamfered windows (one blocked) on the side of the front porch.

The rear (north) elevation is asymmetrical and has four (two on each side) early 18th-century 24-pane sashes with thick glazing bars to the right; a doorway to the left of centre with a rectangular overlight and a 20th-century glazed door; and a large rectangular stair window to the left with thick glazing bars and radiating bars at the top. At the back left, the projecting circa 1936 rear wing is rendered.

Interior

The house retains a very fine and almost complete interior, largely the result of the 1719 remodelling. The entrance hall features a bolection moulded chimney-piece and dentilled cornice. The room to the rear left (north west) also has a bolection moulded chimney-piece. The central front room is fitted with fielded panelling and a cornice; the later chimney-piece is flanked by round-headed cupboards. The drawing room displays bolection panelling with a modillion cornice and a contemporary chimney-piece with an overmantel and flanking elliptical alcoves, together with a fine moulded plaster ceiling carrying Rococo motifs and an acanthus rose.

The fine open-well staircase has an open string with decorated tread ends, three turned balusters per tread, and a moulded handrail ramped up to fluted column newels. A Greek key frieze runs under the landing balustrade, and a pilastered dado encloses the space. The stair well displays moulded plaster wall panels with small shells in the corners and a moulded plaster ceiling containing an oval with an acanthus rose and a modillion cornice.

The first floor is fitted with a complete set of 6-panel doors in shouldered doorframes. The very fine first floor chamber over the drawing room has a coved moulded plaster ceiling with Rococo motifs and an acanthus rose set within moulded rib panels; moulded wall panels with shouldered corners; and a chimney-piece with a shouldered architrave and dentilled cornice above which is a panel bearing an oil-painted classical landscape. Another first floor chamber has an ogee-domed plaster ceiling, fielded panelling, and a shouldered bolection moulded chimney-piece.

Roof

The left hand (west) part of the roof over the main front range was inspected and is probably 18th century, with collars simply lapped and pegged to the faces of the principals.