Feniton Court

FENITON SY 19 NW 7/64 Feniton Court 22.2.55 GV II

Manor house. The owner reckons it was built in 1788 but it looks early C19 and probably includes the shell of an earlier house, billiard room added in 1927. Plastered walls, some are cob on stone rubble footings; the rest is brick and stone rubble; stone rubble and brick stacks with plastered brick chimneyshafts (some early C19 chimney pots); slate roof. Plan: large house with basically a T-plan. The main block faces south-east and it contains the principal rooms. It has a 4-room plan, 2 either side of a central entrance lobby which contains the main staircase. The end rooms are larger and built as crosswings projecting forward a little. The left room is the library. The service block projects at right angles to rear a little right of centre. The service block has parallel roofs. Most of the rooms are heated by a series of axial stacks. It seems the central 2 rooms of the main block occupy the shell of an older, probably C17, house but no evidence is exposed. In 1927 a new billard room and entrance porch was built behind the left crosswing. It is single storey; the rest of the house is 2 storeys. Exterior: symmetrical 3:5:3-window front of C19 ground floor 15-pane sashes and first floor 12-pane sashes. The 3-window sections each end are in full height curving bay windows. The central doorway contains C20 glazed double doors with an overlight. The centre section has a limestone ashlar verendah with a moulded cornice and parapet over pairs of Tuscan columns. The front and left (south-west) end wall have a flat plat band at first floor level, a moulded eaves cornice and plain parapet above. The centre part of the main block roof is gable-ended with hipped crosswing roofs each end. The windows each end are similar to those on the front and those in the right and have stucco keystones over. The secondary doorway in the left end has a panelled door with side lights and Tusan porch dating from 1927. The service block contains mostly 12-pane sashes. Interior: was not inspected although it is said to contain a great deal of early C19 joinery and other detail. The main stair however is a C20 replacement in late C17 style. Feniton is an attractive little village which contains a good group of listed buildings. Feniton Court stands close to the Church of St Andrew (q.v). It also stands on the site of an earlier manor house and was once the home of the Northcott family and of the Right Honourable Sir John Patterson who died here. Source: Devon SMR.

Listing NGR: SY1091799442