British Listed Buildings

Listing Text

ST MICHAEL CAERHAYS
SW 94 SE
3/131 Caerhays Castle

GV I

Country house. 1808, by John Nash, for J.B. Trevanion. Slatestone rubble with
granite and Pentewan stone dressings. Lead roofs behind parapets.
Plan: A large castellated mansion, of asymmetrical plan; the entrance front is to
north west and the garden front is to south east. The entrance front has a large
porte cochere, and the garden front has a 2-bay wing projecting to left. There are
towers of circular and polygonal plan, asymmetrically placed. The main apartment is
a long, wide gallery, with a stair at one end, with library, drawing-room etc.
leading off. The service quarters are attached to south west, and are described
separately. A picturesque Gothic composition.
Exterior: 2 storeys. The entrance front is nearly symmetrical. The 2 storey porch
is central, embattled, with open ground floor with ribbed plaster vault. There are
chamfered granite arches to the front and sides, and inner doorway with double 3-
panelled doors. To left, there is a 2-light casement at ground and first floor, with
hood moulds. Some casements are original, and some have glazing replaced in the
later C19, without the small panes. To left, a polygonal tower with embattled
parapet and casement and loops; buttress to left and smaller casement at ground and
first floor. To the right of the porch, there is a 4-light casement at ground floor
and 2-light casement at first floor, both with hood moulds. To right a square plan
towel with angle buttresses and 2-centred arched chamfered doorway with hood mould.
At first floor the tower has single light casement and lancets with ventilation
louvres; embattled parapet. There is an inner panelled and glazed door with 2-
centred arched Gothic fanlight. To right there is a single casement at first floor
and polygonal stacks. Lead rainwater heads.
The garden front is 2-storey. The centrepiece is formed by two polygonal embattled
3-storey towers with casements at ground and first floor and blind windows at second
floor. The ground floor has an asymmetrical arrangement of casements with hood
moulds; the windows are smaller at first floor, with embattled parapet overall. To
right there is a large circular plan embattled tower of 3 storeys, forming the corner
of the house, with casements at all floors. To left there is a 2-bay wing, of 3-
storeys, with casements at each floor, terminating in a square plan tower with
corbelled embattled parapet. There is a small circular single storey tower set in
the corner between the main front and the wing. The overall effect is asymmetrical,
with details such as a slender polygonal tower with ogee stone roof and cross finial
set to the right of the centrepiece.
The north east side of the house has 3 bays to centre, with tower to right and left
at the corners, each with corbelled embattled parapet. At ground floor there are 4-
light mullion and transom windows at ground floor with hood moulds and two doors to
right. At first and second floors there are casements; the windows diminish in size
in the upper storeys. The windows at upper level retain the original small panes.
Facing the service courtyard, the house has random fenestration.
Interior: Not accessible. See Summerson for some information about the interior.
Sources: Pevsner, N.: Buildings of England: Cornwall 1970. Summerson, J.: The Life
and Work of John Nash, Architect. 1980.


Listing NGR: SW9710541613

Source: English Heritage

Listed building text is © Crown Copyright. Reproduced under licence.