Broadhembury House

Broadhembury House is a large house likely originating in the 17th century, significantly remodelled and enlarged between 1903 and 1914 for Mr. C. Drewe, the owner of the Broadhembury estate, under the direction of the architect Harbottle Reed. The front wall is reportedly cob on stone rubble footings, with Edwardian additions in stone, and the roof is thatched, with hipped sections at both ends of the front left wing. There are two axial chimney stacks, one internal and lateral to the front right, and three rear lateral stacks, all with rendered shafts, designed to complement the traditional cob and thatch houses within the estate village.

The house is situated within the village, slightly set back from the road, and comprises a long, single-depth range facing south-west, a front left wing at a right angle, and a rear right wing also at a right angle. An access corridor runs behind the main range. While the core of the house and some of the stacks may date back to the 17th century, most visible evidence of the pre-Edwardian structure is absent, with both wings being the work of Harbottle Reed. The present entrance is located to the right of centre, leading into a large, heated stair hall containing an Edwardian open well staircase.

The two-storey south-west front is long and asymmetrical, with seven bays, the left-hand bay belonging to the wing. A panelled front door, dated 1614, is positioned to the right of centre, sheltered by a porch hood supported on brackets. A full set of Edwardian oriel windows, of 2, 3, and 4 lights, are featured, with a thatched eyebrow over the first-floor windows, and the oriels are supported by carved, Jacobean-style brackets, each with a unique motif. This window style is extended around the house; some rear first-floor windows are flush to the wall.

Inside, the stair hall is lined with linenfold panelling, some of which dates back to the 16th century and is believed to have been removed from the Drewe Arms (according to Mr. W. Drewe). The remainder of the panelling is Edwardian. A fine Edwardian open well staircase has turned balusters in a 17th-century style. The room to the left of the stair hall features re-sited 17th-century panelling and a Jacobean timber chimney-piece has been re-used above the fireplace. There is an Edwardian decorated plaster ceiling in a 17th-century manner. Harbottle Reed served as the Exeter Diocesan Surveyor in the 1930s, and also worked on several churches and designed Rock House, Bridford, in an eclectic Vernacular Revival style. The Drewe family have resided at Broadhembury House since 1903. The house is notable for its group value within a remarkably unspoiled village and as an example of Vernacular Revival architecture by a local architect.