Rock House the Rock

This is a house, rebuilt in 1798 by William Davy, incorporating an earlier structure. The front wall is painted Flemish bond brick, while the rear and end walls are of cob construction. It has a slate roof with gabled ends, and a stone rear lateral stack with set-offs and rendered shafts. The house appears to follow a single-depth plan with three rooms and a passage, with the 1798 rebuilding preserving this arrangement, featuring a straight staircase rising from a wide entrance passage.

The exterior is asymmetrical but regular, with four bays to the front and a delicate dentil cornice. A 20th-century half-glazed door sits to the right of centre, protected by a porch hood in the style of the 18th century. The windows are 16-pane timber sash windows, with horns on the ground- and first-floor bays on the left-hand side. The rear elevation has three late 20th-century buttresses.

Internally, some joinery was replaced and the staircase rebuilt during repairs in 1983. A lateral stack fireplace, uncovered during the 1983 renovations, is a large feature with a charred lintel. Timber from the original staircase found during the renovations is inscribed “William Davy built this house and laid me here, 1798”. Historical records indicate the house was previously owned by Pilton Abbey and later acquired by the Rolle family.