Beechwood House And Adjoining Service Courtyard Walls

A rectory, now a private house, with adjoining service courtyard walls, built circa 1830–40. The building is rendered, probably over stone rubble, with a hipped scantle-slate roof. The chimneys are rendered with cornices.

Plan and Layout

The house follows a double-depth central-entrance plan, facing west. The central entrance hall leads to a small study to the right with an integral end stack and staircase to the rear. To the left is the drawing room with a canted bay window, and behind it the dining room, with an axial stack between the two rooms and an integral end stack. A projecting kitchen wing is set back to the right with its own integral end stack, and a service wing projects to the rear with a former bakehouse and wash house at the far end. A wall encloses the service courtyard in the angle at the rear.

The building is two storeys with a one-storey section at the rear of the service range.

Exterior

The house has a plinth and deeply projecting eaves. The symmetrical three-bay front has early 19th-century twelve-pane glazing bar sashes (the upper leaves of the principal windows have small cyma-moulded horns) with stone cills. The ground-floor windows have moulded cornices above, supported on small shaped brackets. The central recessed early 19th-century four-panelled door has central beading, a round-arched overlight, moulded imposts, and a moulded architrave to the arch with keystone. The Tuscan doorcase has pilasters supporting a frieze, moulded cornice, and blocking course.

The three-bay left-hand return front has a pair of first-floor twelve-pane glazing bar sashes to the left and a tripartite glazing bar sash to the right (with solid wall between lights). On the ground floor are a pair of tall six-pane glazing bar sashes to the left (upper leaves of two panes) with stone cills and moulded cornices supported on small shaped brackets, and a ground-floor canted bay to the right with moulded cornice and blocking course containing three tall six-pane glazing bar sashes (top leaves of two panes).

The right-hand return front has a tall margin-light glazing bar sash (with horns to upper leaf) lighting the staircase hall and a small ground-floor four-pane window lighting the pantry with internal wrought-iron bars. The right-hand kitchen wing has a small wooden bellcote on the ridge with round-arched openings, a pyramidal lead cap with ball finial and gilded weathervane, and a bell with pulley-wheel. It features first-floor and ground-floor wide tripartite glazing bar sashes (sixteen-pane to centre and eight-pane to side lights), with the ground-floor window having a segmental-arched head. A lean-to porch in the angle to the left has a pair of early 19th-century three-panelled doors (upper panels raised and fielded, lower two panels beaded flush). An early 19th-century downpipe in the angle of the wing has a moulded semi-circular lead rainwater head.

The rear of the main block is irregularly fenestrated, with a pair of early 19th-century glazing bar sashes on each floor to the left. The service wing facing the service courtyard has a first-floor round-arched glazing bar sash to the right with impost blocks and key block. A doorway to the right has a pair of small-paned half-glazed doors (lower panels beaded flush). A small ground-floor two-light wooden casement is to the left. The one-storey probable former bakehouse and wash house to the left has a four-pane window and plank door. A former cartshed adjoins to the far left with a two-bay open front (right-hand bay blocked).

The rear (south) of the right-hand end of the service wing has two first-floor 20th-century nine-pane glazing bar sashes, a ground-floor 20th-century triple twelve- and four-pane glazing bar sash to the right with segmental head, and an early 19th-century twelve-pane glazing bar sash to the left, also with segmental head.

Early 19th-century stone rubble walls enclose the north and east sides of the courtyard at the rear. The north wall has a round-arched doorway with voussoirs, and there is a wide gateway to the east. A small slate-roofed lean-to outbuilding stands in the angle of the wall.

Interior

The interior is complete and well-detailed in early 19th-century style. The entrance and staircase hall has moulded skirting board, lincrusta wallpaper to the dado, moulded dado rail, and moulded plaster cornice (also extending to the landing). Six-panelled doors have panelled reveals and soffits with moulded architraves. The entrance lobby is flanked by antae with plain medallions to moulded capitals supporting a beam with panelled soffit. The front doorway has a moulded architrave, and the draught lobby has two half-glazed doors and half-glazed side-lights.

A fine early 19th-century dog-leg staircase with landing has an open string with cut brackets, treads with moulded nosings, moulded wall string, lincrusta wallpaper to the dado, dado rail, turned balusters (two per tread), a cast-iron foot newel, and a swept moulded handrail wreathed to the foot newel with carved stylized foliage. The flying top flight has beaded corners to the soffit. The balustrade returns to the landing. At the time of survey (January 1988), the staircase had old brass stair rods.

The small study to the right of the entrance has a moulded plaster cornice and soffit and an early 19th-century chimney-piece with pilasters and bracketed mantelshelf. The drawing room to the left of the entrance has moulded skirting board, picture rail, and enriched plaster cornice and soffit. Windows have panelled shutters, lower jambs, and soffits. Windows in the bay have vertical-sliding panelled shutters. The early 19th-century chimney-piece consists of pilasters and a frieze with Greek key ornament and scrolled brackets supporting the mantelshelf.

The dining room to the rear of the drawing room has moulded skirting board and a plaster cornice with egg and dart enrichment and plaster soffit with vine-trail enrichment. Windows have panelled shutters and moulded architraves. There are narrow early 19th-century oak floorboards. An elliptical-arched sideboard recess has panelled reveals and soffit and moulded architrave. A marble fireplace has panelled pilasters. A six-panelled green-baize door leads to the kitchen corridor, which has a stone floor, meat hooks, and a board for former servants' bells (since removed). A four-panelled door leads to the cellar.

The former kitchen has a large fireplace with early 19th-century beaded architrave and mantelshelf, and flanking cupboards. Windows and doors have beaded splayed jambs. There is a matchboarded dado. A small pump room to the rear of the kitchen contains a lead pump. An early 19th-century dog-leg back staircase has winders, closed string, stick balusters, and a two-leaf child gate. A pair of early 19th-century doors in the rear wing each have two raised and fielded panels. The bakehouse and wash house in the rear of the service wing contains a probable former washing copper and bread oven with cast-iron door. Most windows throughout the house retain old glass.

Historical Context

A plan of High Bickington Rectory from circa 1600 in Devon Record Office shows an extensive range of buildings around two courtyards. However, it is not clear whether Beechwood House (the old rectory) stands on the site of the building shown in the circa 1600 drawing. The rectory on this site appears to have been superseded by another rectory (also an early 19th-century building) in the village, which has itself been superseded by a late 20th-century rectory.

Kelly's Directory of 1837 refers to High Bickington Rectory as "a substantial modern residence, with well-wooded grounds [which] stands on an eminence overlooking the Taw Valley, which affords an extensive view of the beautiful scenery of the neighbourhood." Although this description might refer to the former rectory in the village, the reference to "well-wooded grounds" suggests it describes Beechwood House. The house stands in small wooded landscaped grounds including a wooden-balustraded terrace overlooking the view to the north and garden walls to the south.

This is a well-detailed and largely unaltered example of an early 19th-century rectory, particularly notable for the use of horns (although small) on the upper leaves of the principal glazing bar sash windows at such an early date.