Phesdo House

Phesdo House is a neo-Greek country house constructed between 1814 and 1815 by John Smith, with later alterations to the rear wings by Bird & Tyler in 1970-71. The main house is arranged in a U-plan, consisting of a central block fronting south, with north-west and north-east wings.

The main block is built of granite ashlar and has a symmetrical five-window façade. The centre bay projects slightly and features a single-storey tetrastyle fluted Greek Doric portico with pilastered angles. The ground floor windows have consoles, and the first floor windows are architraved. A main cornice and blocking course run along the top of the façade, topped by a raised central parapet with a panel of overlapping discs. The tripartite entrance is located within the portico, leading to a recessed consoled doorpiece. The original six-panelled door retains its elaborate design, with oval lower panels and central panels featuring friezes of interlaced circles. The west elevation exhibits a similar three-window arrangement to the flanking bays of the south front. The north elevation also has three bays, but the central bay is blind, with a ground floor window set within an arched recess. A platform roof is present, and there are four stacks.

The north-west wing has a two-window front and a broad, single-window end pavilion, both built in matching granite ashlar with a cornice and blocking course. A timber verandah features slim coupled columns and segmental arches with latticework spandrels. The east wing is two storeys high and built of coursed rubble without a cornice, appearing approximately five windows wide (slightly modernised between the fourth and fifth windows). An arched stair window with a traceried head is found in the central court.

The interior is distinguished by a rectangular entrance hall framed by Corinthian columns, leading to a square stair hall with single cantilevered flights. A similar Corinthian screen is located at the north end of the drawing room. There is an apsed study and a morning room (now a dining room) on the east side of the south front; the morning room was originally oval but restored to its original planned shape in 1970-71. Elegant chimneys and consoled doorcases are found in the principal rooms. An interesting 'sow' (a relic of the original plumbing) is situated in the office court.

The ruins of Smith’s original lodge, a single-storey, square-plan building with two windows and unfluted Doric columns in the splayed angles, a pyramid roof, and a central stack, have unfortunately been demolished.