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Summary

Riversvale was built in about 1839 with a mid 19th century addition on the right-hand side. The walls are rendered under hipped slated roofs. It has a central entrance porch with Greek Doric pilasters and entablature with balustraded stone steps in front.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1385211: RIVERSVALE

Other References/Statuses

• Old DCC SMR Ref: SS53SE/131
• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 485673

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HOUSE (XIX - 1801 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1880-1899, First Edition Ordnance 25 inch map (Cartographic). SDV336179.

'Rivers Vale House' shown on 19th century map as a large irregular shaped building in the northern corner of a triangular plot between 'Taw Vale Parade' and 'Litchdon Street' in Barnstaple. The plot appears to be laid out as a formal garden.

Lomas, J., 1967, The Old doors and Doorways of Barnstaple, 47 (Article in Serial). SDV85818.

Riversvale, Litchdon Street. Elaborate porch with double doors and sets of twin columns with stone balustrading to the steps. 19th century.

Ordnance Survey, 2012, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV348725.

English Heritage, 2012, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV348729.

Riversvale, 21 Litchdon Street. House, now offices of North Devon Health Authority. 1839, with mid 19th century addition on right-hand side. Solid rendered walls, probably of stone or brick. Hipped, slated roofs. Plain, rendered chimneys, asymmetrically placed, with rebuilt tops. Double-fronted, 3 rooms deep, with central entrance passage leading to main staircase at rear; back stairs in place of right-hand middle room. Mid 19th century addition consists of a wing at the front and a separate wing at the rear, both probably with only 1 or 2 rooms per floor. 2 storeys with semi-basement; the front wing of mid 19th century has 3 storeys within the same overall height. Entrance front, facing south, is 3-window range, the centre window set in a slight projection. Rusticated basement with segmental-headed window to left and flat-headed window to right; 20th century casements. Ground and 2nd-storey windows have barred sashes of 6 panes, except for 9-paned lower sashes in ground storey. Central entrance porch with coupled Greek Doric pilasters and entablature. Balustraded stone steps in front; concrete balustrade. 4-panelled door with adjoining 4-panelled section, apparently just a screen, to left. Flanking panelled pilasters to both storeys. Deeply projecting eaves cornice. Left side wall, partly visible from Taw Vale and the riverside, has been altered, but retains original barred sashes in ground storey. Balcony with ornate wrought-iron balustrade in upper storey. Rear wall (partly visible from Taw Vale and Litchdon Street) has small-paned windows, including the tall round-arched stair window, which has coloured glass in the margin-panes. Mid 19th century addition is 2-window range where it adjoins the entrance front. Segmental-headed windows with moulded imposts and keyblocks; plain sashes. Entablature at 2nd-floor level. Rusticated quoins in 2nd and 3rd storeys. Top entablature and blocking-course. Return front to Litchdon Street plainer, but with a pair of similar windows in 3rd storey and a bracketed eaves cornice. Addition to rear of this has in front facing Litchdon Street, a projecting 3-light window with triangular pediment above. INTERIOR: in 1986, entrance lobby had moulded ceiling with circular panel enclosed within a square. Round-arched inner doorway with panelled pilasters, moulded archivolt and patterned fanlight; door with panels below and small-paned glazing above, the corner margin-panes with coloured glass. Passage and stair hall had enriched dado-rails, modillion cornices and foliated chandelier bosses. 4-panelled doors with moulded architraves. Open-well wooden staircase with shaped step-ends. Wrought-iron balustrade, voluted at the foot, with panels of scrollwork and honeysuckle. Original wooden back stair with thin, square-section balusters. Rooms seemed to have been stripped of detail, but lowered ceilings might conceal original cornices and chandelier bosses. An 1839 deed of No.22 describes the house on the south (presumably this one) as 'lately erected'. Date listed: 31st August 1988.

Southwest Archaeology, 2013, Greater Barnstaple Area Project Database, BHBS Mapping Area 572 (Un-published). SDV351581.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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