Roche Old Court

Roche Old Court

House, late 17th century, with 18th, 19th and 20th century alterations and additions.

The house is built of brick laid in English bond with stone quoins and dressings; the outshut to the rear is built of brick laid in Flemish bond. The roofs are covered in plain tiles.

Originally the house had an L-shaped plan, with an interconnected three-room range facing south-west and a rear wing containing an additional room and the staircase. A rear outshut was added in the 18th century to provide service rooms and created a spine corridor between it and the original rear extent of the house.

The principal elevation on the south-west is a two-storey house with attic and cellar, arranged as six bays beneath a hipped roof with an overhanging timber eaves cornice. There is a high plinth with a moulded offset and a stone plat band, with stone quoins at the angles. The two-light stone mullion windows have hollow chamfered mullions and leaded lights, with a course of vertically set brick headers above the first-floor windows. The ground floor window to the fourth bay is a later insertion replacing the original entrance door. To the first two bays are two chamfered stone lights to the cellar, and to the attic are two raking dormer windows. The end stacks are of brick with that to the south-east end having brick offsets. The ridge stack between the fourth and fifth bay is a later insertion.

The architectural detailing continues to the rear wing. The north-west elevation is arranged as four unequal bays, with single light windows with leaded lights in stone surrounds; those to either side of the chimney stack have been blocked, although those to the first floor retain their stone surrounds. There is an inserted 18th century doorway to the second bay, and a quoin to this elevation is understood to include the graffiti 'WM 1747'. There is a further external stack to the north-east elevation, with three stair windows to the left.

To the rear elevation of the principal range is a dormer window with the roof extending to form a catslide roof over the 18th century outshut which retains an 18th century pegged timber-framed window with diamond mullions and intermediated vertical bars.

Interior features include three first-floor bedrooms in the principal range, as well as the ground and first-floor room in the rear wing, all with late 17th century large-square panelling with bolection moulding. The rooms in the rear wing also have bolection moulded fireplaces and two-panel doors. The principal reception room retains some late 17th century panelling although most is small-square panelling of the 19th century that is also repeated to the former entrance hall. The former kitchen retains its open fireplace with chamfered timber bressumer and a recessed seat of curved timber on a brick base, as well as its spit rack and a 17th century plank door to the left with butterfly hinges. The late 17th century dogleg staircase to the rear wing has turned, vase-shaped balusters with the balustrade and handrail crossing the closed string at the junction. The square newel posts have ball pendants, although the finials appear to have been removed. Other features include chamfered axial and cross axial ceiling beams, panelled and plank and batten doors with associated door furniture, 17th and 18th century fitted shelves, and 19th century fireplaces. The late 17th century roof comprises collar trusses with knee principals and common rafters.

Attached to the south-east end of the house is a single-storey two-bay ancillary range. The principal elevation is of brick laid in Flemish bond with an inserted Gothic Revival window with ogee-heads. The rear elevation is of square-panel timber framing with brick nogging and timber mullion windows. The roof, which forms a catslide to the south-east end where there is a tall brick stack, is covered in plain tiles. The interior is open to the roof which consists of butt purlin collar and tie beam trusses with vertical struts. The mortice holes to the underside of the central tie beam suggest that there may have been a dividing wall, although this and the other roof timbers show evidence of being reused. To the north-west end is a Gothic Revival style fireplace and to the south-east end an additional open fireplace and an open brick well. The floor is of brick and stone.