Horwood House

Horwood House

A house dating from the 17th century with evidence of earlier origins, remodelled and extended in the early 18th century, further extended at the rear in the early 19th century, and restored around 1960. The building is constructed of painted stone and cob with a hipped slate roof featuring crested ridge tiles. Brick stacks are positioned at the right end and to the rear of the lower end, enclosed by the rear wing.

The original plan consisted of a 3-room arrangement with a through-passage, formerly heated by a lateral rear stack in the hall, which has since been removed. During the 18th century remodelling, a storeyed porch was added to the front, followed by five short extensions with hipped roofs extending in line to the rear. These included two stair turrets flanking a small central room behind the hall, a kitchen at the rear of the upper end, and a principal south-facing room slightly deeper than the other extensions, positioned to the rear of the lower end. In the 19th century, a large storeroom with gable ends was added parallel to the principal range, extending beyond this south-facing room. The 1960 restoration widened the through-passage by incorporating part of the lower end, removed the partition between hall and inner room, and enlarged the south stair hall by taking in the small rear central room.

The house presents a 2-storey elevation with a 6-window range including the storeyed porch. At the right end are three timber transomed 2-light windows with square leaded glazing pattern to the casements, retaining much original glass, including a pane etched "Jane Dene 1754" in the right-end window. The decorative wrought iron catches remain intact. Other windows are predominantly 16-paned sashes without horns to the upper storey and to the ground floor window right of the porch. The ground floor sash at the right end contains 20 panes, while the upper storey window right of the porch and that to the porch itself are 18-paned with flush sash boxes. The gabled storeyed porch is supported on chamfered timber posts set in rebuilt stone bases. The front door is a 6-panelled example with a small shield above, reset from inside the passage. The south facade at the lower end comprises three bays with 16-paned sashes to the upper storey and 8-over-12-paned sashes to the ground floor, with a blocked central doorway.

The interior, following a period of dereliction, was substantially remodelled on the ground floor around 1960. An Adam style fireplace was installed at the lower end, which retains an 18th-century moulded plasterwork cornice and a marble chimneypiece to the upper end. The principal staircase was rebuilt in the style of the surviving early 18th-century secondary dog-leg staircase, which features reeded balusters, moulded handrails, and capped newels of square section with recessed panels to each facet. Early joinery survives in the integral cupboards at the base of these stairs and in 3-panelled doors to the principal chambers. The room over the porch retains fine early 18th-century panelling to all four walls, two panels high, with an integral window seat. A geometrical plasterwork ceiling that once existed has not survived.

The roof structure is principally 18th century, comprising five trusses over the main range with two tiers of threaded purlins and ridge purlins. However, the south truss over the lower end is 17th century with an Alcock Type F1 apex, the collar having been removed. The truss over the rear extension at the upper end also has a short saddle. The purlins over this wing and one of the purlins over the lower end are smoke-blackened, suggesting the building may once have been an open hall house of considerable status. The house was formerly the seat of the Pollard and Dene families.