Berry House

Berry House is a house, divided into two dwellings, dating back to the late 17th century with subsequent alterations. It is situated on Bullen Street in Thorverton. The house is constructed with colourwashed plaster, blocked out, and has a slate roof, hipped at each end. It features several brick shafts serving various stacks—a left-end stack, an axial stack to the main range, an axial stack to the rear wing, a front lateral stack at the left end of the main range, and a heating stack adjoining a block. The layout is an L shape around a rear courtyard; the main range faces Bullen Street, while the rear right wing likely originated as the late 17th century Royal Oak inn. A coach entrance in the Bury to the north grants access to the courtyard.

The main range is a single depth, encompassing three rooms. An entrance is positioned to the left of centre, leading to a through passage, with a rear door opening onto the courtyard. The layout includes one heated room to the left of the entrance and two to the right, the latter heated by a stack on the rear wall. A staircase is located in the rear wing, accessible from the through passage via a rear axial passage. Part of the rear wing is now a separate property. A single-storey block, with a corrugated iron lean-to roof and heated by the front lateral stack at the left corner of the main range, is also present.

The front elevation is asymmetrical with four bays and regular fenestration, exhibiting deep eaves and a moulded cornice. The front door is panelled with a timber doorcase, a rectangular fanlight with glazing bars, and a sloping slate porch canopy. The windows are 12-pane sashes. The rear wing has a three-bay elevation to the Bury, also featuring 12-pane sashes.

The interior retains features of interest, including plaster cornices, chimney-pieces, a stick baluster staircase, and an exceptionally tall sash stair window facing the courtyard. A semi-circular lunette is present on the rear door within the through passage. The Royal Oak is documented from 1669 and was possibly converted into a house by the Pugh family before 1787. Reverend Coleridge resided in the house in 1841 during the construction of the new vicarage, and in 1860, it operated as a private school. A photograph shows a small thatched block, adjoining the front at the left, which is likely incorporated into the lateral stack at that corner.