Stables To The North Of Endsleigh House

Stables, dating from circa 1810, were designed by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville for the 6th Duke of Bedford. Constructed of stone rubble with hipped slate roofs, the stables are approximately U-shaped, built against the slope of the land to the north, and encompass three ranges around a pitched stone courtyard. The south range faces Endsleigh House across a forecourt. The building is one storey with attics. It features deep eaves and casement windows with timber mullions and transoms set within chamfered stone openings. Segmental arches with keystones define the doorway and windows to the grooms' accommodation. Full dormers with hipped roofs are also present. The south side of the south range is symmetrical, incorporating a plinth and a large central coach entrance beneath a separate hipped roof supported by chamfered stone cheeks and a chamfered lintel with mason's mitres. Timber spandrels with Gothic cusping form a triangular arch on the north and south sides of the coach entrance. A clock turret on the ridge has louvred sides, four diagonally-set clock faces, and a hipped slate roof crowned by a weathervane. The south side of the range has six large entrances. The west range has a single entrance with windows on either side, while the east range, partly used for accommodation, features diagonally set chimney shafts and two entrances. The east side of this range is built into the slope of the land, allowing direct access to the first floor. A two-bay gabled projection with a half-hipped roof is located at the south end. In the north side of the courtyard, opposite the coach entrance, is a fountain set within a round-headed alcove contained in a tall, battered stone surround that terminates in a cornice. A stone trough is positioned in front of the alcove, and an inscription panel above the alcove reads: "Endsleigh Cottage was built and a residence created in this sequestered valley by John Duke of Bedford, the spot having been previously chosen from the natural and picturesque beauties which surround it by Georgiana, Duchess of Bedford. The first stone of the building was laid by her four eldest sons Wriothesley Edward, Charles, James Fox and ... September 7 1810" (with some parts illegible). It is suggested that the Duchess of Bedford was the driving force behind the creation of Endsleigh House.