Roscarrock

Roscarrock is a house built around a courtyard, dating from the late 15th or early 16th century. The service wing may have been added or remodelled in the early 19th century. It was built for the Roscarrock family.

Exterior

The south-east front elevation was remodelled in the late 18th or early 19th century. The main range is faced with bands of granite ashlar and squared rubble, with a slate-hung left-hand gable end. The range on the right is of stone rubble, probably refaced in the 19th century, with remains of earlier ashlar masonry on the right-hand gable end. The roof is of rag slate with gable ends, cement-washed on the left with raised eaves. Brick shafts top the end stacks; the left-hand stack probably originally heated the hall. A brick axial stack right of centre heats the central room.

The rear south-west wing is of squared rubble with a moulded granite plinth and slate roof with gable ends. A contemporary 16th-century end stack on the north-west has a moulded granite cap. The rear north-east wing is stone rubble with a slate roof with gable ends and brick end stack. A lower slate roof covers the north-west section.

A curtain wall and small tower enclose the courtyard on the north-west. The wall is of ashlar stone, notable for its fine quality of construction, with a battlemented granite parapet.

Plan and Original Arrangement

The house is built around a courtyard with the main ranges facing south-east and south-west, the service range facing north-east, and a curtain wall enclosing the fourth side on the north-west with a small tower on the west. The original development of the plan is uncertain.

The south-west range may have comprised a first-floor hall with a fine late 15th-century roof of 14 bays. The range appears to have been unpartitioned and was probably heated by a fireplace on the south-west gable end. A small turreted stair may have been positioned in the south and/or east corners of the courtyard between the hall and south-west range, and between the hall and service range on the north-east.

The exact arrangement of the south-west range is uncertain. The fine late 15th-century roof of over 12 bays appears to have been undivided. The range was heated by a fireplace in the north-west gable end with a fine oriel window on the first floor at the north-west end of the south-west elevation. Large opposing granite entrance arches near the centre of the front and rear elevations indicate the existence of a through passage, possibly also providing access to the courtyard.

Above the low ground floor are five moulded floor joists with evidence of two secondary beams, now removed. The remaining 18th- and 19th-century joists are unmoulded. To the south-east is a small room known as the cellar, with one chamfered 16th-century floor joist.

It is possible that the south-west range always possessed a first floor. The ground floor may have comprised a three-room plan with cellar on the south-east; the low rooms on either side of the through passage would have been fairly important, indicated by the quality of the intersecting moulded beams, although the central room appears to have been unheated. To substantiate this hypothesis, the moulding on the five joists and remains of secondary beams appears to indicate that the floor is in situ. However, this would suggest a very low ground floor, below the apex of the north-east entrance arch to the through passage.

Alternatively, the south-west range may have been partly floored with a cellar and chamber above on the south-east, a central open hall, and a service room on the north-west with principal chamber above, lit by an oriel window and heated by a gable-end stack. The closer spacing of the roof principals above the north-west chamber could substantiate this theory, especially if the low moulded ceiling beams have been reset. However, there is no indication of a fireplace to heat the open central hall.

The north-west range comprises a curtain wall with an entrance leading into the courtyard and a small tower-like building on the west. This building of one-room plan has been partly rebuilt and its original use is uncertain—possibly defensive with the remains of a possible pistol loop on the south-west, a staircase tower, or a garderobe.

The service range appears always to have been positioned in the north-east range.

Later Alterations

In the late 18th or early 19th century, the hall range on the south-east was remodelled; the left-hand side on the south forming a symmetrical house of two-room and cross-passage plan. Possibly contemporary or slightly later, an outshut was added across the rear to contain a stair and corridor giving access to the service range on the north-east and the cellar to the south-east of the rear (south-west) wing. The front elevation was remodelled and refaced, and the south-west gable end slate-hung. The lower end of the hall was remodelled in the mid-19th century, forming a dairy on the ground floor and two bedrooms above.

In the early to mid-19th century, the service range on the north-east was remodelled or rebuilt with a large kitchen on the south-east and further service rooms to the north-west. Possibly contemporary with this, the ground floor of the rear south-west range was designated for agricultural use and the small tower building to the south-west of the curtain wall was used as a malting floor. In the late 19th century, a second floor was inserted in the rear south-west wing.

Detailed Description of Elevations

South-east range: Two storeys. Symmetrical three-window front on the left with early 19th-century hornless sashes and crown glass. Central six-flush-panel door with fanlight and Doric porch. To the right, a single-window range with brick dressings and granite quoins. Early 19th-century 16-pane hornless sash on ground and first floor. Lion-head guttering. Rear elevation with roof continued down over outshut.

South-west range: Probably two storeys with second floor inserted. Asymmetrical four-window south-west front with blocked entrance to left of centre. Remains of granite surround of entrance with hood mould and two-light round-headed window to right. First floor with particularly fine granite oriel window of four segmental-headed lights with cavetto-moulded jambs, heads and caved spandrels; slate fenestration. Granite two-light segmental-headed window above blocked entrance and similar one-light and two-light windows to right.

Rear elevation to courtyard: Plank door to cellar on left, two-light window in partly blocked entrance with four-centred granite arch, hollow-chamfered jambs and central mullion. A small stone quatrefoil opening, possibly a pistol loop, has probably been reset above to the right. The rear entrance, which is partly blocked, has a four-centred granite arch, moulded jambs and carved spandrels. Above is a two-light mullion window with cavetto-moulded jambs and central mullion (removed). The masonry below this window has decayed and the sill collapsed. The external stair on the right of the elevation may replace an earlier stair; the ashlar stone steps provide access to the first-floor principal chamber or hall, the upper stage contained within a slate-hung projection. Below, to the right, a single-light segmental-headed window with hollow chamfer and carved spandrels, and segmental-headed arch to entrance with roll mould and carved spandrels.

North-west range: Comprises a fine curtain wall with battlemented parapet and segmental-arched entrance to north. The small two-storey tower-like building to the south-west contains a small quatrefoil opening in the west side, possibly a pistol loop.

North-east service range: Two storeys with brick segmental arches to openings. Large early 19th-century hornless 36-pane sash on ground floor lighting large kitchen; three sashes above, two replaced in the late 20th century. Lower range to right with brick dressings.

Interior

South-east range: Retains a late 18th- or early 19th-century interior concealing possibly earlier features. The left-hand range contains a wide central passage with moulded cornice. The right-hand room has 19th-century cupboards, chimneypiece and cornicing; the left-hand room has a fine Gothick plaster cornice and ceiling rose, repaired in the late 20th century, and 19th-century chimneypiece. 19th-century stair in outshut with stick balusters. The range on the right was remodelled as a dairy in the 19th century and has one chamfered 16th-century ceiling beam with spade stops.

The late 15th-century 14-bay roof above the right and left-hand ranges is almost complete. The principals have curved feet which appear to be jointed above the wall plate; the apices are morticed, carrying a diagonal ridge, and the morticed collars and arch braces are moulded with a cavetto, roll and chamfer. The right-hand range of five bays has been partly restored; of the three tiers of butt purlins, the upper two have been replaced, the lower tier with ornate moulding. The curved feet of the principals appear to be jointed and side-pegged into an upright member which rests on top of the wall plate. Part of the wall plate appears to be carved, although the detailing is eroded.

The left-hand range comprises eight trusses; the three tiers of moulded butt purlins are complete and the diagonal ridge appears original. Each bay was ornamented with three tiers of paired windbraces, remaining largely intact on the north-west; the curved blades are chamfered with straight-cut stops. Several common rafters survive and the carpenter's marks are complete. The feet of the principals were truncated on the north-west, probably when the outshut was added, and the feet are boxed in on the south-east.

South-west range: Stone flag ground floor. Five joists of the late 15th century, ornately carved with double cavetto, double roll and double cavetto moulding. The outline of the slighter secondary beams indicates a moulding of similar pattern, there being two cross beams to each joist. A small section of an ornately carved 16th-century frieze has been reset as a floorboard near the centre of the range.

On the first floor, the simple granite fireplace on the north-west gable end has hollow-chamfered jambs and straight-cut stops. The late 15th-century roof above the south-west range is of at least 11 bays (the south-east end not fully accessible). The curved feet of the principals rest on a wall plate carved with a crenellated cornice; the principals, morticed at the apices, carry a diagonal ridge, and the cambered collars are morticed into the principals. The three tiers of unmoulded threaded purlins are largely complete. Each bay of the roof was originally ornamented with three tiers of paired windbraces, of which six survive. Below the crenellated cornice, the possibly ancient plaster has been painted in the late 20th century.

Small tower-like building: The building to the west of the curtain wall contains a complete 19th-century malting floor. The roof was replaced in the late 18th century, but the remains of a moulded timber wall plate survive on the north-west side.

Service range: The north-east range contains a kitchen, reputed to be the largest in Cornwall, with complete 19th-century fittings. The first floor was not inspected.

Historical Context

Roscarrock was a Domesday manor. It passed to the Roscarrock family who held the manor until 1670. John de Roscarrock was Member of Parliament for Cornwall in 1347, John Roscarrock was sheriff in 1491, and Richard Roscarrock was sheriff in 1551 and again in 1561.

19th-century accounts of Roscarrock include that of C.S. Gilbert, who described the house in 1817 as "a strong castellated building", of which many of the massive walls were "falling into decay". The chapel which apparently stood to the west of the house was "in great part demolished". Charles Spence's account of 1856 and Treven's account of 1820 also describe the chapel and decay of other parts of the house.

Significance

Roscarrock is one of the most important buildings in North Cornwall, comprising an interesting courtyard plan which is largely intact. The quality of the late 15th-century roofs is outstanding and a rare survival.