Reeve Castle Incuding Adjoining Glasshouse, Engine House, Terrace, Ponds, Bridges And Garden Paths

Reeve Castle is a large house built in 1900 for and by William Carter-Pedlar. The building is a remarkable example of late Victorian romantic fantasy architecture, with an unusual design dictated by Carter-Pedlar's passion for organ-playing. The house is arranged around a massive central stairwell originally designed to accommodate a large organ.

The building comprises two storeys with cellars and a three-storey entrance porch. The main structure is rectangular, facing south towards a terrace and Japanese garden. Projecting turrets occupy the south-west and north-east corners, while the south-eastern corner is cut back at an angle to create an entrance front with an additional corner turret. Service rooms are positioned on the north side with a small projecting wing to the rear left.

The walls are constructed of stone rubble, faced almost entirely with cream-coloured Barnstaple machine-brick embellished with decorative bands of red brick and some black brick on the rear elevation. The architectural style is a skilled synthesis incorporating Venetian Gothic elements with hints of Arabic inspiration. A red brick plinth runs along the base, and at first floor level a band of moulded contrasting bricks is interrupted by drip courses and moulded hoods over the windows. A projecting top cornice is complemented by a pierced parapet, with the south-west and north-east tower parapets rising slightly higher. All windows feature moulded brick reveals; most are pointed lancet windows, though three at first floor level to the right of the porch and within the left porch turret are grouped beneath round-headed hoodmoulds above large round-headed windows. The original glazing included coloured leaded glass in the window heads. The front door sits within an arch-headed frame and is dated to 1977. Above it are two grey limestone plaques, one inscribed with William Carter-Pedlar's initials and date, the other bearing a Greek motto. Just behind the porch, an observation tower rises from the roof resembling a large chimney or minaret, equipped with plain external cast-iron steps and railings.

The garden front features two windows between the angle turrets and a glass-roofed verandah supported on plain cast-iron posts and floored with tiles. To the left, in the angle between the main and service blocks, stands an iron-framed conservatory with a mansard roof and flooring of small shaped Minton tiles in various colours. The rear elevation is simpler, with exposed rubble walls interspersed with red brick dressing. The main roof is flat except for a large iron-framed glass vault spanning the stairwell.

The interior was extensively stripped and vandalised between 1952 and 1977, with all original joinery, plaster and fittings either removed or damaged beyond repair and subsequently replaced. Historical records indicate that many doors were originally panelled with leaded glass set over panels decorated with Chinese or Arabic designs. Doorways throughout feature pointed arches of moulded red brick, originally exposed but now painted. Period photographs reveal the stairhall was originally surrounded by Arabic motifs and Greek mottos. The house is heated by a hypocaust system.

The setting is dramatic. South of the house, the ground descends steeply into a former quarry, now landscaped as a Japanese garden. The upper terrace, which extends from the verandah with a rounded end, is grassed with slightly battered retaining walls of brick-coped construction and plain iron railings. The lower terrace incorporates concrete-lined ponds and service walkways to the cellars. To the west of the upper terrace, an iron bridge crosses a walkway to reach a hothouse featuring a round vaulted iron frame, now glazing-less.

The boiler house sits beneath the lower terrace. To the south, where the ground drops steeply, a bridge from the engine house connects to the top of a tall iron-framed tower containing a weight and pulley mechanism connected to the boiler engine; when the weight was dropped, the engine started. From the house, a series of winding concrete and brick paths with simple iron railings and timber and iron footbridges descend the steep former quarry slopes through a landscaped Japanese garden featuring a large concrete-lined lake with islands. The paths also lead through water gardens, rockeries, additional ponds, a tennis court, croquet green, and a bear pit. The extensive system of lakes, ponds and waterfall is fed by an elaborate arrangement of overflow pipes, sourced from a nearby spring and water tower.

The entire interior and roof were comprehensively renovated from ruinous condition between 1977 and 1985.