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Summary

Public House, early 17th century in date and remodelled externally in the mid 19th century. May contain early 17th century internal features. Adjacent pair of 19th century houses which are now part of an establishment.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1280117: ROYAL MAIL PUBLIC HOUSE (PART)

Other References/Statuses

• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 375727

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• PUBLIC HOUSE (XVII to XIX - 1601 AD to 1900 AD) + Sci.Date

Full description

Department of National Heritage, 19/04/1993, Bideford, 18 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV338459.

Public House (part 1). Early 17th century in date, remodelled externally in the mid 19th century. Solid rendered walls. Hipped slate roof. Rendered chimney on the rear wall (visible from the churchyard). Three storeys. 3-window main front to Church Walk with raised band above ground storey. All windows in ground storey boarded up. At right-hand end 19th century double doors with 2 moulded panels to each leaf. Box-framed sash-windows in upper storeys, the outer second-storey sashes with margin-panes. No openings in Bridge Street front, but raised band continues round. Interior not inspected, but description by WH Rogers refers to early 17th century broad-rib ceiling divided by inserted partitions: 'on the walls of a bedroom are the arms of Marwood of Marwood, a chevron between 3 goats heads caboshed, horned or' (Rogers 1976, 76).

Rogers, W.H., 1976, Notes on Bideford, 76 (Unknown). SDV350084.

'On the walls of a bedroom are the arms of Marwood, a chevron between 3 goats heads caboshed, horned or'.

Timms, S. C., 1976, The Devon Urban Survey, 1976. First Draft, 92 (Report - Survey). SDV341346.

Rushton, N., 2006, River Torridge Pipeline, Bideford, Devon: Rapid Archaeological Appraisal, 7, 14 (Report - Interim). SDV342463.

WA 75.

Arnold, A. J. + Howard, R. E., 2012, 1-5 Bridge Street, Bideford, Devon. Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers (Report - non-specific). SDV349550.

Three samples from the second-floor ceiling and two fireplace lintels of 1 Bridge Street had been felled in the late-sixteenth century or early-seventeenth century.

Carter, D. + Carter, J., 2012, Building History (Statement of Significance) No. 1 Bridge Street (a.ka. 1 Church Walk) (Report - non-specific). SDV350811.

The orientation of 1 Bridge Street is not onto Bridge Street – there are no upper-floor windows to this elevation, and historic photos show just one small window at ground floor level. It is plainly a building which faces Church Walk.
The earliest known photograph shows that the upper right-hand windows facing Church Walk did not exist until later in the 19th century.
The ground floor level seems to have been lowered by as much as 300mm, as indicated by the possible bedrock in the party wall, and the raised hearth at one end.
The imported pine beams in the ground floor appear to have ancient origins, and it has been determined that there is no reason why these should not date back to the early 1600s.
It is possible that the original façade facing Church Walk was half-timbered and jettied out over the pavement and when this facade decayed, the wall at ground floor level was extended upwards in place of the original. This could explain why the first floor fireplace is not central to the room. It could also explain why the main pine beam runs lengthways to the room – spanning between two substantial stone walls, with secondary beams taken off these, and into the outer half-timbered wall.
The lack of a staircase linking the upper levels suggests that nos. 1 and 2 have been linked for at least the time that this first floor structure has been in place, enabling access to the upper levels via no.2. The possible Georgian fireplace and doorway at first floor, and the original door at second floor level support this suggestion.
At the roof level, no ancient timbers were found in the pitched roof, although a ceiling beam dated to about 1630 ± 10 years.
Documentary sources have shown that this site was the location of the Grenville family’s ‘Place House’. Dates obtained from dendrochronology average to about 1630, and indicate that major re-building works occurred around this time, including erection or insertion of fireplaces. However, the wall at the back of the fireplace, has a plaster surface which goes behind the fireplace walls, so is obviously of an earlier date. This wall may therefore be a remnant of the original Manor House. The blocked-up openings in this wall at ground floor level show that something was happening here prior to the 1630s insertion of the fireplace.
Understanding the Coat of Arms on the wall painting has been the key to understanding the history of the current building. Research has determined that these Arms belonged not to the Marwood Family, but to the Meredith Family, and descended to a daughter who married into the Grenville Family in 1652. They must therefore have been part of a redecoration scheme to commemorate this marriage.

Carter, D. + Carter, J., 2012, Building History (Statement of Significance) Numbers 1 to 5 Bridge Street, Bideford, Devon (Report - non-specific). SDV350807.

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

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4517 - Archaeological Appraisal of River Torridge Pipeline Routes, Bideford, Devon
• EDV5884 - Dendrochronological Analysis, 1-5 Bridge Street, Bideford

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