Goodameavy Barton And Manor House

Goodameavy Barton and Manor House

Two adjoining houses originally forming one complex. Goodameavy Barton dates from the late 16th century with 17th-century alterations and 20th-century modernisation. The Manor House is an 18th-century building that was remodelled in the early 19th century and extended later in the 19th century.

The buildings are constructed of granite rubble walls with granite dressings to the Barton and stucco to the Manor House. The Barton has a hipped slate roof while the Manor House has a gabled roof. The Barton has a large rendered lateral stack at the rear of its left-hand kitchen range and a 20th-century inserted stack to its rear barn range. The Manor House has tall rendered axial stacks.

The original plan was a building extending around four sides of a courtyard. The present Manor House is an 18th-century rebuilding of the former hall range at the front, remodelled in the early 19th century and extended by a small wing at the right-hand end in the mid to late 19th century. The other three sides of the courtyard to the rear retain their original form to varying degrees and comprise the Barton. The range running back from the left-hand side of the Manor House was the kitchen wing. On the rear side of the yard, parallel with the hall range, is a barn with a gateway through its right end connecting to a probably stable range on the right side of the courtyard. This range was linked to the right end of the hall range by a gateway arch. The principal alterations include apparent partial remodelling of the kitchen range in approximately the mid-17th century and conversion of the rear barn range into living accommodation in the later 20th century.

The building is two storeys. Goodameavy Manor forms the front range with an early 19th-century almost symmetrical four-window front with projecting wings at either end and a porch to the right of centre. The windows are early 19th-century 12-pane hornless sashes. The contemporary porch has flush panelled pilasters, a deep cornice breaking forward over them and a blocking course above. The round-arched doorway has a moulded arch and imposts with flush-panelled double doors. The semi-circular fanlight has intersecting tracery glazing bars, as do the arched side-lights. The inner doors comprise six panelled double doors with a rectangular fanlight above featuring intersecting glazing bars. The projecting right-hand wing is probably later 19th-century.

The kitchen range is positioned behind the left-hand end of the Manor House and has an asymmetrical four-window front with 17th-century two-light chamfered granite mullions. These have flat stone arches above and the stonework up to the first floor is coursed in roughly dressed small granite blocks, becoming rubble and roughly coursed above. At the left-hand end is a lean-to 20th-century porch with a stable-type door. The rear of this range abuts higher ground and has 19th and 20th-century outshuts.

At the rear of the courtyard, opposing the Manor House range, is a long barn recently converted, which is single storey. On its inner face this range has slit openings and a chamfered four-centred arched doorway at the left-hand end reached by stone steps, with an archway through its right-hand end. On its outer face is a slit window to its left with an inserted 20th-century single light casement to its right. A 20th-century inserted glazed door has been inserted at the left end. To the right of centre is a granite four-centred chamfered arched doorway with 20th-century glazed door and casement to its right. At the end of this range the wall continues slightly to incorporate a probably reused segmental headed chamfered granite doorway at the front of a low passage which has a similar doorway at the rear and is roofed with large slabs of granite. The left-hand end of this range is set back slightly and forms a gatehouse with a large chamfered four-centred granite arch which has a room above with a small segmental headed light.

The wing on the right-hand side of the courtyard behind the Manor House may originally have been a stable range. It has no original openings facing into the courtyard although some have been inserted and subsequently blocked. On its outer face it has four partially granite-framed slits on the first floor with an inserted loading door at the centre. On the ground floor to the far left is a blocked granite-framed square light. To its right is an inserted 20th-century casement with an original three-light chamfered granite mullion beyond it. At the centre is a probably inserted doorway to the right of which is a granite-framed slit with a square granite-framed light beyond it. A 19th-century two-storey lean-to addition is present at the right-hand end. At the right-hand gable end is a blocked segmental headed granite doorway, chamfered with run-out stops; to its left is a blocked two-light granite mullion window. A blocked doorway with brick arch above is also present. Joining this gable end to the former hall range is a wide chamfered segmental headed granite arch.

The interior of the Manor House was not inspected but is thought to contain fairly complete early 19th-century joinery. The Barton retains one original roof truss in the barn range which has curved feet and mortices for threaded purlins. In the former kitchen is a double fireplace arrangement; the left-hand one is particularly wide but its lintel has been removed. Both have chamfered granite jambs with bar and concave stops; the right-hand hearth has a cambered chamfered granite lintel. A large granite square-headed doorway, chamfered with bar and concave stops, forms the original entrance to this range from the courtyard.

Although considerably altered, this building constitutes a relatively unusual survival of a good quality courtyard house. Apart from the destruction of the hall range, the fabric itself is relatively intact. The rebuild of the hall range, as is the present Manor House itself, is a good quality building of its period.