Tor Royal

Tor Royal is a house built between 1785 and 1793 by and for Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, with a further addition of circa 1815-20. It was restored and slightly altered in 1912 by A E Richardson. The building is constructed of plastered stone with a slate and asbestos slate roof. The roof is mansard over the central 2-storey section, hipped to the left-hand wing and gabled to the right-hand wings. The central 2-storey section has 2 gable end stone stacks, while the parallel right-hand wings each have gable end stone stacks and the left-hand wing has 2 axial stone stacks.

The original building of 1785-1793 consisted of what is now the central 2-storey section and the right-hand parallel single storey wings. The 2-storey part contained the principal rooms with a stair in a small wing at the rear, and the right-hand wings served service purposes. Around 1815-20, an L-shaped single storey wing was added at the left end, extending to the rear. This consisted of a high quality suite of self-contained rooms reputedly for the use of the Prince of Wales. At the centre was a large reception hall with 2 principal rooms opening onto the rear courtyard and 2 rooms at the front. The plan remains very unaltered to the present day.

The exterior presents an almost symmetrical front of 2 storeys with attic and single storey wings. The 2-storey central section was given a mansard roof and attic during the 1912 restoration, with windows renewed at that time. It has a symmetrical 3-window front of sash windows—12 panes to the first floor and taller 8-pane windows to the ground floor. Dormer attic windows are roundheaded sashes with intersecting glazing bars at the top and small pediments above. The main windows are all shuttered, a feature likely original as they are shown in a drawing of the house from 1828. A central enclosed porch with hipped roof and granite pillars probably adapts the original doorhood supported on pillars shown in the 1828 drawing. Each of the single storey wings has 3 sash windows, though those in the left-hand wing are considerably larger and similar windows extend along its left-hand wall toward the rear. The rear elevation is considerably more irregular, with 2 small hipped roof wings behind the 2-storey range (the right-hand one containing the staircase), a later outshut between them, and a single storey service wing extending to the left parallel to that at the front. To the right, the other wing projects with a doorhood supported on granite pillars on its inner face.

The interior remains fairly unaltered, with an obvious difference in the quality between the principal suite of rooms and other spaces. The hall features a domed ceiling with a lantern. At the base of the dome is an unusual plaster frieze depicting a steam engine pulling trucks, reputedly commemorating the construction of the Princetown railway. In the corners are simple scenes of either a Shepherd with his sheep or a Carter with his horse, with a frieze above of corn sheafs and baskets of fruit. The motif of the steam engine and trucks is repeated in plaster below the lantern. The contemporary chimneypiece in the hall has reeded pilasters each with a lion's head at the top and a frieze of a key motif with a flower at the centre. At either end of the hall are double arches leading to other rooms. Several doors in this suite of rooms were obtained from Carlton House in London when it was demolished and still survive. There are also doors covered with green baize and decorative studwork. The room to the left of the hall has a coved cornice with applied fleur de lys. The room behind it has an ornate plaster cornice and a marble chimneypiece with a classical figure at the centre of the frieze. The room in front of the hall is lined in wood with fielded panelling in places up to chair rail level and built-in cupboards with pilasters and decorative frieze. The small room to its left has an Art Nouveau chimneypiece with coloured tile surround. The stairs have a closed string, square panelled newel with flat cap and turned balusters.

Thomas Tyrwhitt had no previous connection with Devon but came to know Dartmoor through his association with the Prince of Wales, whose secretary he was. In 1786 he was appointed auditor to the Duchy of Cornwall. He became Member of Parliament for Okehampton and later Plymouth and in 1812 was appointed Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod and Knight. Tyrwhitt built Tor Royal and made its estate in a completely uncultivated part of the moor as an exercise in making the moor agriculturally productive, experimenting with unusual crops such as flax. Various members of the royal family stayed at the house. Tyrwhitt was also responsible for the building of both Dartmoor Prison and the Princetown railway, which led to the development of Princetown as a town. The interest of this house lies not only in the quality of its interior and its unaltered nature but also in its historical importance to Princetown and its royal connections.