Portesham House

Portesham House is a detached house built in the late 18th century, with a re-modelled front from the early 19th century. The exterior features coursed rubble-stone walls and dressed stone quoins, with dressed stone window jambs and voussoirs. It has a moulded stone cornice topped with a stone parapet and stone slate roofs with gable copings. The house has white brick stacks at the end gables, complete with moulded cappings. This double-pile house has parallel ridges and stands two storeys tall, with cellars and attics. The front has three sash windows, each with thin glazing bars and four panes' width, along with stone cills. There are two 20th-century dormers featuring 2-light wooden casements with glazing bars and flat tops. The central front door consists of six ribbed panels, with panelled reveals and heads, and is topped by a rectangular fanlight that has a semi-circular internal form and diagonal glazing bars with husks. The front porch is supported by Roman Doric columns and pilasters, which have fluted neckings, a frieze, and a cornice, all painted white. Two stone lions sit atop the porch canopy. The east gable-end includes a rectangular window with marginal glazing bars. At the rear, there is a short wing that reaches full height, featuring a stone-coped gable with moulded kneelers. Inside, the central hallway has an elliptical archway with panelled jambs and reeded pilasters capped with Roman Doric capitals. The cornice displays guilloche ornament and beading. Early 19th-century window shutters with ribbed panels and fireplaces from the same period are found in the ground and first-floor rooms. Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy lived in this house until his marriage in 1807.