Zeals House

Zeals House is a rambling country house of exceptional architectural interest, combining late 14th-century, 17th-century, 18th-century and 1860s work. It is built in limestone rubble stone with Welsh slate roofs and stone stacks with moulded cappings.

The house is arranged in an L-plan, with the earliest range consisting of a two-storey hall and solar range to the north east, supplemented by 17th and 19th-century additions. The main front is two storeys with attic and eight windows. It features a central recessed bay containing an 1860s porch with Tudor-arched double doors and the Chafyn-Grove arms above, a five-light mullioned window and battlemented parapet. To the left is a three-light ovolo-mullioned and transomed window. The 14th-century range projects to the right with two 19th-century three-light ovolo-mullioned and transomed windows with hoodmoulds to both ground and first floors. The gabled solar wing and stair turret to the right have two-light and three-light mullioned and transomed windows, with a glazed door to the present kitchen. The 17th-century range to the left of the porch contains three-light and four-light mullioned and transomed casements to ground and first floors, with two attic gables bearing three-light ovolo-mullioned casements. The coped verges have ball finials. Attached to the left of this is an 1869 addition with external stack, first floor oriel and 17th-century style mullioned and transomed casements. The 1869 left return features a pair of gabled bays with mullioned casements and a five-light mullioned and transomed casement between, with Chafyn-Grove arms above. The right return is the north gable-end of the 14th and 17th-century parallel ranges, with a diagonal buttress to the left, 19th-century porches and mullioned and transomed casements, and 17th-century ovolo-mullioned casements to the attics. The rear left has chamfered and ovolo-mullioned casements with a parapet to the roof, and a single-storey attached tack-room. A 17th-century range projects to the right with mullioned casements to basement, ground and first floors, some 19th-century restored. A two-storey bay was remodelled as a tower with battlemented parapet in the 1860s. The 1869 south wing has cross windows.

Interior

The entrance hall in the 17th-century range has 19th-century full panelling and stairs to the rear with turned balusters. The first floor drawing room on the west side has a shallow barrel-vaulted ceiling and 18th-century full fielded panelling and overmantel. The former servants hall is below. A bedroom over the entrance hall retains reset 17th-century full wainscotting. The north west range, possibly late Medieval and remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries, has a Tudor-arched ground floor doorway with ledged door. A first floor room features an early 18th-century moulded plaster ceiling cornice.

The 14th-century range to the north east contains a dining room with a white marble fireplace with Ionic columns and 18th-century joinery. Above it, the billiard room has full fielded panelling and a marble corner fireplace. In the attics above is a very good eight-bay roof of the former first floor open hall, featuring arch-braced cranked collar trusses with cyma-moulded soffits and two tiers of windbracing with cusped decoration.

The north east solar wing has a first floor room with full panelling, a marble fireplace with overmantel and good doors. The attic has a formerly plastered barrel-vaulted ceiling and a three-bay roof with hollow-chamfered collar trusses.

An early 18th-century stair in the north east turret has three turned balusters per tread, a wreathed handrail, panelled dado and good plaster ceiling with moulded cornice and Chafyn-Grove arms in the centre panel.

The 1869 drawing room features 17th-century style fittings including panelling with frieze, and stairs to the attic in 17th-century style with serpentine splat balusters. The 1869 service accommodation occupies a separate wing to the west, with chamfered mullioned casements and round-arched opposing doorways with keystones. Below is a gabled clocktower with keyed clockface.

Historical context

Matthew de Clevedon acquired a house here in 1372 and apparently rebuilt it; the roof of the former first floor open hall probably dates from this period. The Chafyn family, subsequently the Chafyn-Groves, acquired the property during the 15th century and their descendants remained here until the mid-20th century.