Nutwell Court

Heritage listing

Details SX 98 NE WOODBURY NUTWELL ROAD, Lympstone 1/126 Nutwell Court 11.11.52 - II* Substantial country house. The manor belonged to the Dinhams; of their late medieval house parts of the chapel remain (there is a record of a licence in 1371, but there appears to have been a chapel here in the early C14, a date that accords well with the style of the remaining glass); the house was rebuilt by Lord Dinham (later Henry VII's Treasurer) in the 1480s; this in turn was drastically remodelled in the 1750s by Sir Francis Drake who demolished the gatehouse at great expense and converted the chapel into a library thereby destroying part of the medieval roof. The house was largely rebuilt for the 2nd Lord Northcote in 1802 to plans by Samuel Pepys Cockerell. A major restoration was undertaken in the 1940s by George Northcott. The chapel is of sandstone ashlar; the remainder of the house is clad in yellow mathematical tiles in Flemish bond fixed to laths; these are hung to resemble bricks in Flemish bond. Gabled-end and hipped roofs, those to the house concealed by balustrade. Plan: principal rooms ranged around the central rear stairwell with entrance hall to left-hand (north) side; service rooms occupy a rear wing that runs parallel to the chapel, with service accommodation in the attic. A ballroom is placed in the basement (south-west). 2 storeys and basement throughout, the central part with attic storey; the austere exterior,combined with an imaginative disposition of internal spaces,is reminiscent of Soane. Exterior: all windows have hornless sashes which, with the exception of the attic storey, have lost their glazing bars. Plat band between basement and ground floor, throughout. Entrance front (north): symmetrical, 6 bays; balustrade. Unadorned sash windows to 1st floor.

From the Historic England List Entry under OGL v3.