Arwenack House Arwenack Manor

Arwenack House and Arwenack Manor, Falmouth

Great house, for a time semi-fortified, now converted into flats in Arwenack House and a separate house in Arwenack Manor. The building was acquired by the Killigrew family in 1385 and mostly rebuilt in 1571 by Sir John Killigrew, 1st Governor of Pendennis Castle. It was partly destroyed by fire and reduced during the Civil War, then partly rebuilt afterwards. The house was extended in the 18th century, but neglected during the 1970s and suffered a serious fire at the Manor end. In 1978 it was repaired by Percy Williams, builders, of Redruth.

The building is constructed of killas rubble with granite dressings and has scantle slate roofs. It retains a 17th-century external rubble stack to the right of the Manor, two tall 17th-century external lateral stacks to the right of the right-hand cross wing, and three later brick stacks.

The plan was originally probably E-shaped with a wing at the far left (no longer extant). The right-hand part was once fully enclosed by a front curtain wall with gateway or possibly a gatehouse. Eighteenth-century front ranges towards the left and at the far right include a front semi-circular stair turret between the cross wing and front wing. The most impressive feature, though possibly never completed or reduced, is the front wall of the proposed or former great hall with flanking semi-octagonal turrets parallel to the rear of the left-hand courtyard. In the 18th century, the right-hand range of the right-hand courtyard was doubled within the courtyard, concealing the mullioned windows, and part of the adjoining rear range was rebuilt. At about the same time the central range was also doubled on its left, obscuring part of the great hall wall. This 18th-century wing was badly damaged by fire and was subsequently removed, reopening the former space within the left-hand courtyard. The right-hand side of this courtyard has been rebuilt in simple late 20th-century style that respects the ancient house, without replica or pastiche architecture.

The principal elevation is dominated by the great hall wall with an enormous pair of 6-light transomed mullioned windows, each subdivided by a king mullion. The flanking turret windows continue in line with the top lights of the hall window, with two lights to each face. Beneath each of these windows is a moulded 4-centred arched doorway with square hood-mould and label stops.

Other elevations are two storeys. The road frontage of the left-hand range has 20th-century-copy pairs of 16-pane sashes to each floor. On the right is a 16th- or 17th-century 4-light-plus-sidelights oriel window with weathered parapet and 20th-century mullions. At the far left is a courtyard wall with two doorways: a chamfered square-headed doorway with hood-mould on the left and a wide low 2-centred arched doorway with two reset corbels above, surmounted by 17th-century ball finials. The right-hand return of this block has a chamfered basket-arched doorway high up for access to the former curtain wall walk. To the right of the stack is a 2-window range with hornless sashes with glazing bars. Towards the left are two 4-centred arched chamfered doorways. A 4-window range at the rear of the courtyard also has sashes with glazing bars, with a doorway to the link wall on the left and another doorway under the 2nd window, and a 20th-century 3-light mullion at the far right.

The 18th-century 3-window range to the right of the courtyard has casements with glazing bars and arched heads to the ground-floor windows, with a central latticed porch. The road-frontage elevation on the right is an irregular 5-window range with hornless sashes with glazing bars to the 1st floor (left and right with 2/2 sashes). At the front of the cross wing (left of centre) is a 16th- or 17th-century 4-light mullion over a 3-light mullion, and to its right a conical-roofed turret with an original slit window and a 2-light mullion under the eaves. The right-hand return of the cross wing is a 3-window range with irregularly disposed 18th-century casements with thick glazing bars.

The interior of the manor part contains a 17th-century splayed fireplace and rounded corbels of the oriel window. The other part has several old fireplaces, one with an oven, mullioned windows to the former outer wall, and some simple 18th-century pine panelling and moulded plaster ceiling cornice in one chamber.