The Dower House

A house dating from the early to mid-16th century, with alterations made in 1664 and around 1690. The building is constructed of stone rubble, partly colourwashed and rendered, with some cob sections. It has slate roofs gabled at the ends and five stacks: two with brick shafts, one rendered, and two granite stacks with moulded caps.

The early 16th-century plan is complex and uncertain. It may originally have been a west-facing plan with three rooms and a through passage, with the hall stack backing onto the passage and a rear south wing containing a great chamber whose roof features painted decoration. However, the hall stack is not aligned with the gable end of the main range, and it is possible that the painted roof belonged to an open hall associated with a stack rather than a great chamber. The south wing was extended or rebuilt to the west of the west wing, probably before 1664, to form a heated parlour wing. This was further extended northwards in 1664 by a second span heated by a non-aligned stack which has an adjoining stone newel stair. A rear north wing also appears to date from the late 17th century. Around 1690, the south wing was entirely remodelled internally with a fine stair, a canted plaster ceiling to the principal first-floor room, and panelling with a decorated plaster ceiling to the ground-floor room. A gable on the south side suggests there may once have been a wing that no longer survives. In the late 19th century, Sabine Baring-Gould was responsible for some cosmetic alterations to the interior.

The building is two storeys. The south front is irregular, consisting of 1 + 2 + 1 windows. A central shallow projection with an asymmetrical gable contains a late 17th-century stair. A 19th-century entrance is positioned in front at the left of the projection under a rectangular fanlight. A recess to the right, raised about a metre above ground level, may be a blocked doorway. The stair light is a 3-light casement with 5 panes per light. Above the 19th-century doorway is a 2-light granite hollow-chamfered mullioned window. To the left of the projection is a ground-floor 3-light granite hollow-chamfered mullioned window with leaded panes, with a similar first-floor window above. To the right of the projection is a 4-light late 17th-century timber mullioned casement with three lights containing 15 panes and one light containing 8 panes. A 3-light first-floor casement above has 8 panes per light. Adjoining the south wing to the south is a small projection, formerly containing a stair. The west front of the west wing has 2-, 3-, and 4-light mullioned windows with leaded panes. A projecting west gable-end stack has set-offs. The entrance in the west front is an arched timber doorway with an ogival head under a slated canopy.

Three trusses from the 16th-century great chamber or open hall survive above the 17th-century first-floor ceiling. These are collar rafter trusses with chamfered cambered collars mortised into the principals, the chamfers continuing onto the principals with the arches picked out in red paint on the collars and principals. The principals appear to have curved feet. The roof structure includes a diagonally set ridge and three tiers of trenched purlins, each purlin chamfered with a step run-out stop. The lowest tier is painted red with scrollwork decoration. The trusses above the north end of the west wing have collars mortised and side-pegged into the principals with threaded purlins. The trusses above the north wing have collars halved and pegged to the principals, similar to those in the south-west wings. One small collar rafter truss survives below the present ridge level above the 17th-century stair.

The ground-floor room of the south wing is panelled throughout with bolection-moulded panelling, and the contemporary bolection-moulded fireplace surround remains intact. The decorated plaster ceiling features a central oval motif enriched with foliage designs. The principal room above has a canted plaster ceiling with a moulded cornice carried round the principals on the south and north sides. A narrow 17th-century panelled door leads into the former stair turret. A fine softwood dogleg stair has heavy turned balusters, newels of square section, a flat moulded hand rail, and a contemporary dog gate. The south-west wing has one panelled wall, some of the panelling 17th-century and some extended in the 19th century, probably by Baring-Gould. The 1664 addition features a boxed-in chamfered cross beam. The 17th-century fireplace is partly blocked, and a 19th-century panelled overmantel largely conceals a large chamfered granite lintel. A doorway to the left of the fireplace leads to a stone newel stair. The north end of the west wing has exposed ceiling beams and a partly blocked massive fireplace with a timber lintel carried on a moulded corbel to the left.

The dower house was in the possession of the Monk family until the estate was purchased by the Goulds in 1620. Sabine Baring-Gould is reputed to have removed some of the fittings of local houses to Lew House (now the Manor Hotel), and it is possible that panelling and overmantels at Lew House originated from the Dower House. The building represents an important survival of a decorated 16th-century roof in conjunction with an unusually complete 17th-century interior.