More information : (SX 96818360) Powderham Castle (NR). (1)
Powderham Castle, ancient seat of the Courtenay family for more than five hundred years, is far older than its present apperance. The oldest part dates from between 1390 and 1420 but extensive alterations in the 18th. and 19th centuries have given the effect of a later date. During the Civil War it was garrisoned for the King but surrendered to Col. Hammond in 1646.
The medieval east and west towers, together with the Marble Hall, the Ante-Room and the chapel (originally the grange of the medieval house) belong to the earliest period of 1390-1420. In the reign of Elizabeth I one of the Courtenays started to re-model the facade on the favourite E-plan and added a central brick porch and a brick wing to the right to balance the existing barn (chapel) on the left. The earliest internal details date from the period of Queen Anne.
The spectacular stair-case was rebuilt in 1755 together with the libraries. Between 1770 and 1775 the Music Room was added and in 1773 the triangular Belvedere Tower was erected. Other alterations and additions, including the gateway, were made in Victorian times. (2-5)
Powderham Castle is generally as described above. Some disagreements about the dates of alterations occur but the number and type of alterations make it impossible to reconcile these differences with any certainty. The raised modern garden covers the area of the early eastern courtyard and gatehouse, as shown in an illustration of 1734 (5), obliterating any trace of them. There is no evidence of any earthworks around the castle.
House revised at 1:2500 on M.S.D. (6)
Powderham Castle. Grade I
(See also SX 98 SE 29 for the Belvedere). (7) |