Cross House

LITTLE TORRINGTON SS 41 NE 6/118 Cross House 4.10.60 II*

Country house. 1680-85 according to Pevsner with C18 alterations and further remodelling in early C19. In mid C20 the house was reduced in size. Rendered stone walls. Hipped slate double span roof. 2 rendered axial stacks. Plan: Double depth plan, 3 rooms wide with large central stairhall. Originally there were 2 flanking wings which presumably contained the service rooms. When Stow House, the late C17 Grenville mansion in Cornwall, was demolished in 1720 some of its fitments were transferred to Cross, including the staircase. Further modifications took place in the early C19 when the exterior of the house appears to have undergone remodelling. In the mid C20 the top storey of the house and its 2 wings were removed. Exterior: 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3 bay 7 window front, disposed 2:3:2, 12-pane sashes on first floor, those to the right are early C19 whereas those at the centre and left have thicker glazing bars suggesting they are original. 15-pane early C19 sashes on ground floor with contemporary insertion of off central doorway with semi- circular fanlight over glazed door. Early C19 Tuscan portico of 4 granite columns with heavy frieze and cornice. The original form of the front is retained in the projecting keystones over the windows, the rusticated pilasters at either end, the moulded plinth and slightly projecting central bay. One storey section of wall at either end is all that survives of the 2 wings. The rear elevation has mainly early C19 9, 12 and 15 pane sashes apart from 2 C19 French windows to the left and an C18 12-pane sash to right of centre on first floor. 2 6-panel doors-one to left of centre and one at centre. Above the right-hand one is a flat doorhood on C17 or C18 carved consoles; the left-hand door has a reeded doorhood with dentilled cornice on C17 or C18 console brackets. Interior: Inaccessible at time of survey but recorded to contain an early Venetian window at the rear. Fitments transferred from Stow include a very fine staircase of 3 flights around an open well with closed string and openwork carving in the Gibbons style - Irish foliage, flowers, putti etc. Other fragments from Stow in other rooms.

Listing NGR: SS4871517543