Description

ZEAL MONACHORUM ZEAL MONACHORUM
SS 70 SW
4/90 Heron Court including out-
buildings adjoining to west and
26.8.65 cob garden walls adjoining to
north
GV II*

House, formerly rectory. Mid C16, rearranged and partly rebuilt in the early C18,
refurbished with service extensions circa 1830-40. Plastered cob on rubble
footings; stone rubble stacks topped with C20 brick; slate roofs.
The house faces south with a rather rambling plan which has developed over 4
centuries. The main block dates from the mid C16 and comprises 2 rooms separated by
a through passage. The left (western) end room was built as a fine parlour but was
later converted to a kitchen and apparently its original rear lateral fireplace has
been replaced by the present projecting end stack. The unheated right room was
converted to the stair hall in the early C18. At the same time a 2-room crosswing
was built on the right end projecting forward and rear and containing the principal
rooms. The front room has an outer lateral stack and the rear room has an end
stack. Circa 1830-40 this rear room was subdivided to include a small study and
enlarged with a round-ended extension on the outer side. On the left end, on the
same axis as the main block but set back from the front and overlapping a little to
rear is a service wing containing the present kitchen and a garage and workshop
(formerly stables and coach house). Main house is 2 storeys with attics in roof
space and rear room of crosswing has a cellar under.
Main house has nearly symmetrical 3-window front. The front passage doorway is a
little right of centre and contains a C19 6-panel door with contemporary 2-light
overlight containing tiny panes of leaded glass and simple flat-roofed porch with
slender turned timber posts and a minimally-moulded (possibly replacement)
entablature. It is flanked by C19 sashes, 12 panes to right and 16 panes to left.
The first floor has contemporary 2-light casements with glazing bars although left
one replaced by C20 iron-framed casement. The front end of the crosswing has an
early C19 tripartite sash with central 12-pane sash on each floor and a C20
replacement dormer to the attic. The eaves along the whole front are carried on
wide-spaced shaped brackets and the early C19 cast iron gutter has lion's head masks
over the joints. The main block roof is gable-ended. The crosswing is taller and
its steeply-pitched roof is hipped each end. The outer side is blind except for the
early C19 round-ended projection which contains a ground floor 24-pane (12/12) sash
and first floor 12-pane sash. Its roof has a rounded hip and the slates here are
coated. The rear end has a 12-pane sash on each floor, both on the right side, and
an early C19 dormer to the attic. The rear of the main block has a C19 4-panel door
to the through passage with a C20 casement above and, to left, a large oak early C18
mullion-and-upper-transom stair window; flat-faced mullion and transom with
internal shallow ogee mould and containing rectangular panes of leaded glass. The
low service block to left of the front has a 1-window front of late C19 casements
with glazing bars and a contemporary part-glazed 3-panel door to the present
kitchen. the roof steps down to left over the single storey garage (with C20 double
garage doors) and workshop (with C20 fixed pane window). It is gable-ended.
Good interior showing high quality work from the 3 main building phases. The former
parlour (left room of main block) has a mid C16 richly moulded axial beam and
similar half-beams against the walls as a cornice. Below the beams against the
passage crosswall is another similarly-moulded beam with broad step stops which
appears to be the headbeam of the original partition there. The fireplace however
is C18 or C19; it is granite with a roughly-finished square-cornered lintel and
includes a C19 brick-lined oven. The rear part of the through passage is stone-
flagged. The main stair is a large and high quality open well stair with closed
string, square-section newel posts, moulded pine flat handrail with swan's neck
ramps, and richly-turned oak balusters including blocks. The upper flight is
supported on a large turned softwood post. This stair must be associated with the
early C18 refurbishment even though some of its features look more mid C18 in style.
The front room of the crosswing is lined with early C18 oak bolection panelling in 2
heights with box cornice. The bolection chimney piece is unusual having plain
blocks either side interrupting the moulding. The fireplace has a curving pentan.
The rear room and study have early C19 joinery detail and the main room has a
contemporary chimneypiece and moulded plaster cornice. The front windows of the
wing and stairhall have early C19 fielded panel shutters. Most of the other joinery
detail is early C18; most of the doors are 2-panel and some have fielded panels.
The main block roof is mid C16. It is 4 bays and the central truss was originally
closed with large framing. The lower parts of the principals are either hidden or
cut off. The open trusses have cambered collars and chamfered arch-bracing, and
take 3 sets of chamfered butt purlins. The left 2 bays (over the former parlour)
have 2 sets of windbraces, the upper pair inverted. The other 2 bays have only
single sets of windbraces. The crosswing has an early C18 roof of A-frame trusses
with pegged lap-jointed collars. The garage and workshop roof is a C20 replacement.
From the rear of the crosswing and the service wing high plastered cob and rubble
walls with pantile coping extend northwards to adjoin the churchyard wall (q.v.) and
enclose a rear garden.
Heron Court is an interesting and attractive house containing high quality work from
the mid C16, early C18 and circa 1830-40. Very little has been done since.

Listing NGR: SS7202003995

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17548038

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)