Court Hall

Court Hall is a house, largely reduced in size. It was probably built in the mid-18th century, with significant demolition occurring in the mid to late 20th century, and subsequent additions made in the late 20th century. The construction is primarily of uncoursed stone rubble, with some red brick dressings. Roofing is a mix of scantle-slate (hipped) and Welsh slate. Brick stacks are present. The original plan comprised an L-shape, with a former service wing attached to a larger house. A rear wing features an external lateral brick stack and an integral brick end stack. The main block of the house was demolished, likely in the 1960s, with a later 20th-century addition on the south side and a hipped-roofed porch to the west.

The surviving centre block has a first-floor wooden cross window to the left, featuring brick reveals and a segmental head, and a small, inserted late 20th-century casement to the right, with a wooden lintel. The porch incorporates a reused Tudor-arched doorway with carved spandrels and a ribbed boarded door. A slightly projecting block to the left displays a reused carved coat of arms on the first floor, believed to have been taken from Higher Lodge in the late 20th century, and has two ground-floor wooden casements. A one-storey 19th-century range exists to the left, with an integral brick end stack. A 20th-century addition to the right features two first-floor windows and three ground-floor windows. On the rear of the 18th-century section, two bays remain, with segmental-headed, boxed-glazing-bar sashes (likely replacements from the late 19th or 20th centuries).

Inside a ground-floor room of the rear wing is a remarkably fine, reused wooden chimneypiece, dated 1639. Originally from Poltimore House near Exeter, it was first installed in another property, then moved to Court Hall in the mid to late 20th century. The chimneypiece features a well-carved free-standing equestrian statue of King Charles I, flanked by round arches with free-standing figures, extensive armorial carving, and a carved frieze. The fireplace was reduced in size, probably in the early 18th century, with carved scrollwork within the lugged architrave. Court Hall was historically associated with the Poltimore family and stands within a landscaped park on the outskirts of North Molton. Despite its partial demolition and alterations, Court Hall retains an exceptionally fine 17th-century chimney-piece.