Canonteign House

Canonteign House is a large country house, built in 1828 by Charles Robert Ayers for Hon. Capt. P.B. Pellew, later 2nd Viscount Exmouth. It was subsequently remodelled internally with some external alterations by Forbes of Lincoln’s Inn following a fire in the early 20th century. The house is constructed of stuccoed walls with a slate roof hidden behind a parapet, and features stuccoed chimney shafts topped with ornamental pots.

The house is rectangular in plan and designed in the Greek Revival style, with an orangery attached to the west side and a north-east facing entrance elevation. The interior arrangement was significantly altered in the early 20th century, with the original central stair hall replaced by a two-story, top-lit galleried ballroom. The interior joinery, chimney-pieces and principal stair date from this early 20th-century renovation.

The symmetrical, seven-bay entrance elevation incorporates left and right pilasters, a cornice, and a parapet. The central three bays project forward and are divided by pilasters. A 20th-century double-leaf glazed front door, with glazing bars and an integral fanlight, sits beneath a baroque door hood supported by moulded brackets. Other ground floor windows are similarly treated with fanlights below round-headed recesses decorated with laurel wreaths. First-floor windows have moulded architraves and contain two-light timber casements with glazing bars. A stone plaque adjacent to the front door commemorates Admiral Lord Exmouth, who died in 1833, with an inscribed verse.

The symmetrical, five-bay garden elevation features a parapet, cornice, and the central three bays project forward under a pediment with a giant applied order of Ionic columns. Pilasters are present on the left and right sides. Ground floor windows have floating pediments, while inner windows are set within round-headed recesses decorated with laurel wreaths and integral fanlights, matching those on the entrance elevation. The five-bay rear elevation mirrors the design of the other elevations, with a parapet and cornice, and the centre three bays projecting.

A five-bay orangery adjoins the rear of the house at a right-angle. Work was in progress in 1987 to convert this orangery into a swimming pool. The centre three bays of the orangery feature double-leaf glazed doors beneath round-headed recesses decorated with laurel wreaths.

The north-west elevation has undergone substantial alterations, including the addition of a basement and an attic storey, along with the addition of casement windows.

Internally, features include two-panel doors, chimney-pieces, a gallery and a staircase with turned balusters, all dating from the early 20th century. The south-east garden elevation provides a particularly impressive view of the surrounding landscape.