Nibley House

Nibley House is a large country house on the south side of The Street in North Nibley. The building dates from the mid-17th century, with late 17th-century alterations and major reconstruction in 1763 for George Smyth. Late 19th or early 20th-century additions were also made.

The house is constructed of ashlar limestone with roughcast applied to the rear elevations. It has ashlar chimneys and a plain tile roof. The building is two storeys high with an attic and cellar, arranged on a central staircase plan with a wing to the rear.

The front elevation displays a 2:3:2 fenestration pattern, with 15-pane sashes to the ground floor and 12-pane sashes to the upper floor, all fitted with moulded eared architraves and bracketed sills. A pedimented break forward at the centre features a small distyle Ionic portico porch sheltering a doorway with a keyed round arch and imposts. The doorway is fitted with a pair of three-panel doors surmounted by a fanlight. The parapet cornice is enriched with modillions, and the pediment similarly decorated with modillions. A plain band runs at upper floor level. A pair of ridge-mounted moulded chimneys rise towards the centre of the hipped roof.

The east side has five-window fenestration matching the front but with plain openings. A central doorway with a Gibbs surround contains a six-panel door with a rectangular light above, sheltered by a 19th-century glazed lean-to porch. The plain banding and parapet from the front façade continue across this elevation.

The west side shows fenestration of 2:3:2 with a recessed centre. The portion to the left maintains the treatment of the front façade with plain openings. A break in roof pitch to the right of this section marks the point where more of the original 17th-century structure was retained in the rear areas. Simplified façades continue to the right towards the gable end of the rear wing.

The rear elevation's right side forms part of the 1763 rebuilding. To the left is a round-arched staircase sash with plain architraves, imposts and keystone. A gable at the centre of the rear elevation dates from the original 17th-century house and is topped by a gable-mounted chimney. Beneath this sits a late 19th-century two-storey lean-to block containing bathrooms. A staircase projection in the angle with the rear wing may date to the early 18th century and features a single upper floor 12-pane sash with a plain keyed architrave.

The interior is predominantly from 1763 except in some rear areas. A finely proportioned room contains a mid-18th-century marble fireplace. A high square hall features an open well staircase on three sides with three turned balusters per tread and wreathed handrails. The entrance hall is square with two doorways in each of the inner corners, all with eared architraves. A room in the north-west corner displays a fine Rococo plaster ceiling depicting flowers and fruits with great realism. In the angle with the rear wing stands a late 17th or early 18th-century staircase with a moulded handrail and barleysugar balusters above plain square newel posts. One upper floor room retains mid-18th-century panelling with eared architraves to each panel. Some late 17th-century timber-framed partitions survive in the older part of the house. The roof structure incorporates part of the original 17th-century roof.

The mid-17th-century house appears to be that illustrated by Kip. Some alterations may have occurred between the building recorded by Kip and the major rebuilding of 1763. The present house is as engraved by Bonner in 1779. Two barns, one now converted to residential use, stand to the south beyond a long coach house and stable range, which is not of special interest.