The Shell House & Other Buildings, Polperro, Cornwall

 

Back in 1996 a friend wanted a holiday and asked me if I'd like to accompany her. She'd come into some money and I was on unemployment benefit at the time so she very kindly paid for our Bed & Breakfast and I helped out with a meal on the journey there. It was such a nice couple of days and I took photos of some of the interesting buildings we saw on our wandering around...plus a few more, which I'll add at the end.

The photos above show the harbour at low tide. Below is this enchanting entrance of a private residence with several plants in flowerpots, crab & lobster pot floats and a live macaw on a perch. The photos look the same but I took the two to show that the bird was real and had moved. 

Bearing in mind that the photos are rather old and that I was just taking them of things I liked at the time, I was surprised at how interesting some of them are historically too. That's especially true of the Shell House.

It's an amazing achievement, covering the house with shells and stones into the plasterwork and looks absolutely gorgeous. Now a Grade II Listed Building, the decorations were made by seaman Samuel Puckey circa 1937 and 1942, and is an unusual piece of folk art. The house itself was built during the early to mid 19th century, constructed with stone rubble and comprising three storeys with an external staircase up to the first floor.

The windowsills are a cornucopia of large conch shells from abroad, whereas the other shells are smaller, local ones arranged into attractive shapes and patterns. Halfway up the left side of the photo below is a depiction of the Eddystone Lighthouse, which is situated on the Eddystone Rocks off the coast of Cornwall. This looks like the first one to be built (the first of four), called Winstanley's, built in 1698 and which was swept away by a storm in 1703.

With its steep, narrow and winding streets, many of the houses and cottages are reached by steps. Most have no room for front gardens, but that hasn't deterred householders from delightfully decorating the fronts of their homes with plants, wall plaques and, especially in the case of the Shell House, with shells from all over the world.

The one below is a Grade II Listed Building called Gull Cottage, built circa mid 18th century. Containing a ground floor basement, which was either used as a fish store or stable, the living quarters are on the first floor with the main entrance reached by steps. The steps and retaining stepped wall are of stone rubble with slate treads, beautifully adorned with the house owner's potted plants.

Then there's this enchanting house called, appropriately enough, the House on Props. A Grade II Listed Building, built with rendered and painted stone rubble, it also has a delightful slate hung gable end, seen in the photo below.

According to the listing it's reputed to be 16th century but is probably early 18th century. As seen above and below, the props which give the building its name.

 

Called The Old Barkhouse, I only have one photo of this cafe, seen below. I haven't been able to find anything about the building itself, but the name Barkhouse is of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning someone who works in a bake house. However, I vaguely remember someone saying that it was originally something to do with storing fishing tackle. Checking further I found a reference to the Bark House Fishery on the River Wye, which seems to fit the fishing reference. If anyone knows anything further a comment left below would be most appreciated. Thanks. :)

And last, but not least, is this gloriously over-the-top place to eat called Nelson's Restaurant.

It isn't a listed building but was built in 1937, replacing three 17th century cottages on this site.

And that's all I have from this great little visit, although I do have some photos from our journey down and from nearby the town, seen below.

First off, was the famous - or infamous! - pub/resturant called Jamaican Inn. Not at all like the ancient pub as described in Daphne Du Maurier's book of the same name, it's now a seriously commercial venture, with extensions. A couple of photos below, including the sign outside.

I think this next is Fowey Estuary (Fowey is pronounced Foy), where we took the ferry over the river after a little break to enjoy the views.

And some odd photos of other views, an old mine winding engine, a rock stack on a beach, taken on the way down, and another nearby beach to Polperro where my friend braved the cold, early spring sea and had a swim. Me being me, I just took some photos, lol.

And a further two which I can't place, but could either be from the journey there or above the beach near Polperro. 

There we go! Coming up shortly, an article about Exeter Cathedral, which I seem to have been working on forever. Now at last with re-scanned photos (a few times after accidentally overcooking with post-editing!) and more information than I had on my former website article.

 

Merry Christmas & A Happy New year

 

All the very best for a lovely Yule and good wishes for a great New Year ahead.

Things have been a bit hectic here but I've almost finished two more articles to go in the blog shortly, and hopefully before the end of the year. Meanwhile, have a great time and I will see you soon. :) 

Rougemont Castle, Exeter, Devon - Part Two

Part Two of Rougemont Castle deals with the inner courtyard and the buildings within the castle walls. The whole site, comprising the Gatehouse, Castle and City Walls, the ground beneath all the buildings and adjoining areas, is designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument.

Part One is on the previous post but can also be accessed here.

 

The largest and most imposing building is the Palladian style Georgian courthouse, built in 1773 for the County Assize Courts. Prior to this, the inner bailey consisted of a Sessions House, built in 1607, which was demolished along with the remaining mediaeval buildings. Interestingly, a castle was a traditional venue for court hearings, which is where the name 'the old bailey' or the terms 'court' and 'courthouse' comes from.  

The building comprises two storeys at the front in stone, with a similar east wing of four bays, which was built much later in 1905. The main entrance is through a portico with three round-headed arches whereas there's a rather nifty pedimented doorway with corinthian columns on the side east wing (above left). The top photo of the above three shows a cupola on the roof.

A Grade II* Listed building, it is now home to residential apartments, a ballroom and gallery. When I visited in November 2011, there was still interior alteration work being undertaken with workmen going in and out. I didn't want to get in their way, so I only took a few photos of the vestibule inside. The exterior was rather difficult to photograph too, as the carpark was full and I couldn't get any shots from a distance, and as the vehicles were right up to the building I only managed a few close-ups. More about that later! 

Enlarged in 1895, and more alterations made in 1905 with the addition of the new Neo-Palladian wing, it served as Exeter's Crown and County Courts until 2003. Apart from those fortunate...or unfortunate!...to have been called to court, it was an inaccessible part of Exeter's rich history. However, due to increasing difficulties of disabled access, there was a move to new purpose-built courts, and the Assize building was subsequently sold to private developers.

To the right of the inner door (above) is what looks like a reception office, which may have been the first port of call for those who were attending court.

The photo below shows a lovely ornamental pebbled pathway in front of the building, using pale stones to create the diamond within a bed of dark ones. Pebbles were used extensively in East Devon buildings, as well as the more ubiquitous cobbled streets, due to the local pebble beds in the area as well as the pebbly beaches.

As grand as the building is, I found the rear areas far more interesting. I love the way bits of the architecture get cobbled together when no-one's looking.

I wish I had more photos of the rear as it's full of higgledy-piggledy goodness, along with this fabulous cast iron pipe, above. 

And around the other side to the east, is this wonderful arch. There are lights above, therefore I assume it's an actual bridge across and over the wall to the right. 

Another Grade II Listed remain of the inner courtyard is this statue of Earl Fortesque (below), who was the Lieutenant of Devon. The statue was erected in 1863. I had difficulty getting this photo, as it was fenced off around the base, but managed to get inside the barriers to get this side shot.

 
The Lodge, below, was built in 1892, and although not a Listed Building in its own right it has been Curtillaged Listed. That was a new term for me, so I looked it up. It's a term accorded to satellite buildings within a specific area together with those which are grade listed, and which pre-date 1948. As a building which has a specific role within a Scheduled Ancient Monument, it is therefore curtillaged and protected alongside them.  

A view, below, of the inside of the castle gate and gatehouse. A wonderful view for anyone living in one of the new courthouse apartments, but...a minor rant here! One of the reasons I had difficulty getting the photos I wanted was due to the amount of vehicles inside the courtyard.

According to a pdf document from the planning department published in April 2005, and before the buildings were sold for development, it did stipulate that 'in order to create a satisfactory ambience for the buildings and the ramparts, parking should be kept to a minimum'. Before it was sold and developed there were virtually no cars there at all (as in the first photo at the top of this article, seen through the gate), but at this visit it was choc-a-bloc. In fact, the whole of the courtyard looked like one gigantic car park, even right up to the front entrance of the Georgian building, and I know I wouldn't want to live there and see that from my window. It may not be like that now, as it was almost exactly 12 years ago and there may have been an event held in the public rooms at the time. If things are different I will update with more photos when I can visit again. :)

And to end with, here are a few more of the fabulous castle gatehouse from the front. I have such a lot of these so I only put a small selection in Part One. I went a bit mad when taking photos and printing them up because I just love this amazing arch with the triangular headed openings.

I'll hopefully get some more articles done before the end of this month, although I'm not sure which ones yet. 

Cheers. :)