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Summary

Extensive cottage ornée-style house built by Lord le Despencer in 1810. Originally one and a half storeys, an additional storey was added by Richard Napoleon Thornton circa 1833-1876. The house was converted into a large hotel in the 1880s. It became the East Devon District Council offices in the 1970s.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• COTTAGE ORNEE (Built, XIX - 1810 AD to 1900 AD)
• HOTEL (Converted, XIX - 1880 AD to 1889 AD)
• OFFICE (Converted, Late 20th Century - 1970 AD to 1979 AD)

Full description

English Heritage, 09/05/2013, Decision not to add East Devon District Council Offices, Knowle, to the List (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV351219.

Completed assessment of the building. Having considered our recommendation, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has decided not to add East Devon District Council Office, formerly known as Knowle Hotel to the List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.

English Heritage, 10/04/2013, Assessment of East Devon Disitrct Council Offices, formerly known as Knowle Hotel (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV351114.

A Certificate of Immunity from Listing was requested for Knowle and its grounds. The grounds of the building cannot be considered in this assessment as they do not fall within the remit of a COI which is solely for the consideration of buildings and structures eligible for listing. Knowle was considered for listing, and the landscape garden for registration, in 2012. The decision for both cases was that neither met the criteria for designation.

East Devon District Council Offices, formerly Knowle Hotel is not recommended for listing and so a Certificate of Immunity should be issued for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest: the building is only of modest architectural interest and does not demonstrate a high level of design interest or intactness necessary for a predominantly mid- to late-C19 building;
Alterations: it has been subject to alterations which have significantly altered the overall appearance of the building;
Historic interest: the various people who have been involved with the different phases of construction are all of local rather than national interest;
Date: it is relatively late in date and has undergone a greater degree of alteration than other comparable former villas in Sidmouth which have been listed.

English Heritage, 13/12/2012, Application of Immunity, Knowle House, Knowle Drive, Knowle (Correspondence). SDV350754.

Application received to issue Certificate of Immunity to East Devon District Council Offices, previously known as Knowle Hotel.

English Heritage, 15/02/2013, Assessment of East Devon District Council Offices (Report - Survey). SDV351050.

The house was originally known as Knowle Cottage. It was built by Lord le Despencer (unknown dates), in 1810. It was an extensive cottage ornée-style house with pointed windows, veranda, thatched roof and Gothic dormers. The walls were of flintwork. From the 1820s/30s to 1861 it was the property of Mr T L Fish (d. 1861), a collector of objets d’art. He made improvements to the house and the picturesque garden, adding exotic flora and fauna. The grounds were opened to the public one day a week. The subsequent owner, Richard Napoleon Thornton (circa 1833-1876) who was the son of British merchant Richard Thornton (1776–1865), removed the thatched roof and added an extra storey. His alterations included extensive redecoration in the Gothic Revival style. Some ornamental fireplaces in the former hotel building date to his occupation and are decorated with his initials. In the 1880s it was sold and converted into a large hotel, known as Knowle Hotel, which led to further changes. The hotel consisted of a south range (the garden-front range) running west to east, which was originally ‘L’ shaped. On the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1904) the plan changed to form a ‘U’ shape and a wing was added to the west and further extensions were made to the north cross-wing. There is a fireplace in one of the main former ground-floor hotel rooms which contains delft tiles with ship designs which were produced by the Dutch manufacturing company Ravesteijn, who designed tiles for the British market (15 by 15cm in size) in the late 19th century. The hotel was in use until the 1970s when it was taken over by the East Devon District Council as their main offices. This most recent occupation has led to further alterations, particularly the demolition of the outbuildings to the north which were replaced by late-20th century ranges. In the late 20th century all of the windows in the former hotel were replaced by modern uPVC windows and the external shutters were removed. It is understood that despite more recent adaptation the dimensions of the rooms within the 19th century hotel were not greatly altered when the building was converted to offices, although various alterations appear to have been made to the internal decorative scheme, particularly in the upper storeys. One of the original detached early-19th century lodges, to the north, is listed Grade II.

Devon County Council, 1975, The Knowle, Station Road, Sidmouth (Ground Photograph). SDV365093.

Ordnance Survey, 2013, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV350786.

Clark, J., 2013, The Knowle (Un-published). SDV357878.

The Knowle was once one of the most famous houses in Sidmouth but massive rebuilding and conversion in 1882 into a hotel diminished its architectural qualities, leaving little of its early features. The once renowned cottage orne was built in 1810 under the personal supervision of Lord L.E. Despenser and subsequently rented to the Marquis of Bute. It was owned by the collector and connoisseur T.L. Fish from 1836 to 1861 who added picturesque improvements.

CgMs Consulting, 2016, The Knowle, Sidmouth. Heritage & Archaeology Statement (Report - Assessment). SDV364493.

Report assessing the potential impacts of the proposed demolition and redevelopment on the site of the East Devon District Council Offices.
A forty room house built 1810-12 for Sir Thomas Stapleton within nine acres of parkland. It was designed in a cottage orné style with a thatched roof, dormer windows and flint walling. By the 1820s it had been acquired by Thomas Leversidge Fish. He altered the house internally, creating fewer but larger rooms. He also created a series of gardens around the house in keeping with its romantic design and including aviaries of tropical birds and a conservatory of exotic plants and the park became a safari park with kangaroos, buffaloes and a camel, the whole opened to the public. The site was purchased by Richard Napoleon Thornton in the 1860s who added vineries and remodeled the house, changing it from the Picturesque Vernacular to Gothic Revival. The latter included replacing the thatched roof with a larger tiled roof and adding turrets, towers and projecting extensions.
Following Thornton's death in 1876 the house was split off from the land which was sold piecemeal. The house was briefly transformed into a hotel in the 1880s and then in the late 19th-early 20th century it was redesigned by its then owner Kenneth Balfour. It was extended to the east and an additional storey added.
During the Second World War it was used as a convalescence home and then as an Officers training quarters. After the war it became a hotel once more and was acquired by Sidmouth Urban District Council to become council offices in 1969. The outbuildings to the north were demolished and replaced with modern buildings at this time.
It is considered that the continuous alteration of the building has led to the loss of its aethestic and historic value. It is noted that in 2013 the site was not considered to be of sufficient historic or architectural interest to warrant listing (it was issued with a certificate of immunity from listing for 5 years). It does retain some elements of architectural interest, however, such as the flint construction and Gothic details and some of these are to be retained within the new development.

Historic England, 2018, East Devon District Council Offices, Knowle, Sidmouth, Devon (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV361668.

Notification that a Certificate of Immunity from listing for five years has been granted.

Historic England, 2018, Former East Devon District Council Offices, Knowle, Sidmouth (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV361176.

Notification that Historic England have received an application for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing.

Historic England, 2018, Former East Devon District Council Offices, Knowle, Sidmouth (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV361181.

Historic England are currently considering whether a Certificate of Immunity should be issued for the former council offices and have completed a report in order to assess whether the building holds special architectural or historic interest.
History
The building was built as a house, originally known as Knowle Cottage. It was built by Lord le Despencer (unknown dates), in 1810. It was an extensive cottage ornée-style house of one and a half storeys, with pointed windows, verandah, thatched roof and Gothic dormers. The walls were of flintwork. From the 1820s/30s to 1861 it was the property of Mr T L Fish (d. 1861), a collector of objets d’art. He made improvements to the house and the picturesque garden, adding exotic flora and fauna. The grounds were opened to the public one day a week. The subsequent owner, Richard Napoleon Thornton (circa 1833-1876), who was the son of British merchant Richard Thornton (1776–1865), removed the thatched roof and added an extra storey. His alterations included extensive redecoration in the Gothic Revival style. Some ornamental fireplaces in the former hotel building date to his occupation and are decorated with his initials. In the 1880s it was sold and converted into a large hotel, known as
Knowle Hotel, which resulted in further changes. The hotel consisted of a south range (the garden-front range) running west to east, which was originally ‘L’ shaped. On the 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey Map (1904) the plan changed to form a ‘U’ shape and a wing was added to the west; further extensions were made to the north cross-wing. The interior was significantly altered to create a 25-bedroom layout. There is a fireplace in one of the main former ground-floor hotel rooms which contains delft tiles with ship designs which were produced by the Dutch manufacturing company Ravesteijn, who designed tiles for the British market (15 by 15cm in size) in the late C19. The hotel was in use until the 1970s, when it was taken over by the East Devon District Council as their main offices. This most recent occupation has led to further alterations, particularly the demolition of the outbuildings to the north, which were replaced by late-C20 flat-roofed, brick ranges. In the late C20 all of the windows in the former hotel were replaced by modern uPVC windows, and the external shutters were removed. It is understood that despite more recent adaptation the dimensions of the rooms within the C19 hotel were not greatly altered when the building was converted to offices, although various alterations appear to have been made to the internal decorative scheme, particularly in the upper storeys.
Details
A building with origins as an early-C19 cottage ornée; extensively altered in the 1860s/70s and again when converted to a hotel in 1882; converted to offices in the late C20.
MATERIALS
The main part of the C19 building is painted render over brick, with some stone dressings, and some flint-rubble faced elevations to the north. The late-C20 buildings to the north are exposed brick. All the windows have been replaced with modern uPVC.
PLAN
The former hotel building is a ‘T’ shape, with a garden-front range running east-west on the south side and a north-south wing on the north side. There are further C20 wings which are attached to the north and north-east corners of the former hotel.
EXTERIOR
The south elevation of the garden-front range faces onto the terraced gardens. It is of two storeys with an attic floor including raking half-dormers. It consists of a main ‘U’ shaped range with two full –height, single-bay wings which project forward at either end of the six-bay central section, with an attached ground-floor verandah formed from a pentice roof on timber posts. A further six-bay wing with a similar verandah and dormers extends to the west. The fenestration is symmetrical, with French windows on the ground floor and windows above. The west elevation is of two bays. The east elevation is of three bays and has an attached metal fire escape staircase. A cross-wing projects from the north elevation on a north-south axis; it was also part of the former hotel and incorporates some flint walling. At the junction of the two ranges is a later curved entrance foyer giving access to the present committee room and members’ lounge. The north-south wing rises to two storeys. The ground floor on the east
elevation projects forward and includes four large, full-height windows with decorative stone surrounds, rising to a pierced stone balustrade. The first-floor wall which stands behind the balcony thus created is rendered and has a flat roof. The west elevation is of two storeys with an attic, faced in flint-work, with a projecting, two-storey central bay, and dormer windows with decorative timber barge boarding. This half of the range has a hipped roof and is topped by a central roof lantern. A further range, known as Knowle Lodge, is attached to the north
elevation and runs east-west. It is a two-storey, flint-rubble faced building. The south elevation is four bays and contains two gables with decorative barge boards, each of which are topped by brick stacks. The east elevation contains a two-storey bay window. The roof is tiled, with a decorative terracotta ridge. The windows are all uPVC; those in the south elevation are in pointed-arched openings and echo the Gothic tracery detail of the originals. Parts of the north side of this range are obscured by the addition of a C20 brick range which runs to the north,
containing the present entrance and reception rooms for the council offices. A second late-C20 brick office block extends from the north-eastern side of the former hotel.
INTERIOR
Parts of the late-C19 internal decorative schemes have been retained within the former hotel. The most notable of these are within the former hotel ground-floor reception rooms. The largest of these is the former ballroom, located on the ground floor of the north-south range, and now used as the council chamber. This room contains late-C19 decorative fireplaces, panels of Pugin-style wall paper, decorative moulded plasterwork in the fields of the compartmental ceilings, painted Corinthian columns and a wide doorcase with a pediment and carved trophies leading through to the former hotel foyer, which is within the garden-front range. The foyer retains a late-C19 plaster fireplace with the engraved initials ‘RT’. To the east of the foyer, within this garden-front range are two further rooms which were part of the original hotel plan, which have been re-used. The most easterly is the current council committee room. This room includes a fireplace with late-C19 Delft tiles depicting shi designs; these are made in a standard British size (15 x15cm), and were produced by the Dutch company Ravesteijn. The adjacent room is the current council chairman’s office, which has an elaborate door surround and an ornate fireplace, also with engraved initials ‘RT’. On the west side of the foyer is a further former hotel reception room which again retains a late-C19 decorative fireplace, moulded ceiling and a decorative door surround. The main open-well timber staircase, with decorative balusters and tread brackets, is opposite this room; it is lit by a central, rectangular roof light.
The rest of the former hotel consists of various rooms to front and rear off central corridors, which would have been former hotel suites, now adapted for office use. Some of these rooms retain late-C19 fireplaces, though most have been removed entirely; while a few examples are similar to the decorative ground-floor fireplaces, most are modest C19 timber surrounds. Most rooms have at least parts of their plainly-moulded cornicing and some later-C19 skirting boards. Some of the corridors also retain sections of moulded cornicing; however, for the most part these are largely undecorated. There has been some later subdivision and removal of previous partitions. A hotel service bell cabinet still survives at the top of a former service stairway in the north-south range, with a former linen closet.
The range known as Knowle Lodge is partly used as caretaker accommodation with cellars below. The ground floor was not accessible at the time of the site visit; however, previous reports record that the decoration is modest. Most rooms contain blocked fireplaces and somemodest timber work including door architraves and skirting boards and plain ceilings. The first-floor rooms have been converted into offices, which have lost their fireplaces and have
very modest decoration.

Historic Environment Record, 2018, Former East Devon District Offices, Knowle (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV361623.

East Devon District Council Offices, formerly known as Knowle House, was considered for listing, and the garden for registration, in 2012. The decision for both cases was that neither met the criteria for designation. This decision was subject to a very detailed review for both the listing and registration decisions in November 2012. The result of the review was that the original decision was upheld. The site was reassessed in early 2013 following an application for a Certificate of Immunity from Listing (COI). A COI was granted in May 2013, and expired on 8 May 2018. The present application seeks a renewal of the COI.
The East Devon District Council Offices originated as Knowle House, a cottage-ornée house, in the early C19, which was substantially altered in at least two phases in the mid- to late C19. The buildings were assessed for listing and turned down in 2012, a decision which was upheld at review. A COI for the buildings was issued on 8 May 2013 and expired on 8 May 2018. The present assessment results from an application to renew the COI.
Externally, although some fragments of the early-C19 building remain, the building as it survives today is primarily a construction of the 1860s and 1870s, when the house was remodelled, before being converted to a hotel in the 1880s. As such, it is reasonable to assess it as a later-C19 house. The present buildings no longer retain evidence of their former cottage-ornée appearance; the elevations are extremely modest and do not demonstrate high quality in architectural style. They have also suffered significantly from the loss of key architectural features such as the original fenestration, shutters and some of the stacks. The total replacement of the windows with modern uPVC has had a particularly negative effect on the overall appearance of the buildings. Internally, the former principal hotel reception rooms, in the garden range, retain some of their fixtures and decoration, including decorative timber work, door frames, wallpaper, stucco detailing, plaster ceilings and decorative fireplaces. However, these all date from the end of the C19 and although decorative, are not of particular quality or distinction and do not demonstrate sufficient rarity or architectural interest to raise the overall importance of the building, particularly given the modest external appearance and the level of external alterations. Most of the former hotel bedrooms on the first and second floors have very modest and sparse decorative schemes, mainly consisting of simply-moulded cornices and some plain, late-C19 timber fireplaces; there has also been some insertion and removal of partitions, though the corridor plans are still evident. Although the layout of the late-C19 hotel has been little altered since the conversion of the buildings to local council offices, the planning is unremarkable and has entirely obscured the plan of the earlier house.
The building is associated with a number of locally-important individuals, including Lord le Despencer, for whom the original house was built, and Mr T L Fish, a local business man who made a number of improvements and opened up the grounds to the public. The other notable occupant, who made extensive changes which largely eclipsed Fish’s design, was Robert Napoleon Thornton, the illegitimate son of a well-known, wealthy British merchant, Robert Thornton. Although the connection with Robert Thornton has some limited interest, he died only four years after his son took over Knowle and there is no evidence that he was involved in its rebuilding or that he stayed here. The people involved in the building and subsequent rebuilding of this house are all historic figures who hold primarily local interest as characters who put their own distinctive stamp on this villa, probably drawn to its prominent position in Sidmouth and its spectacular view over the town, rather than being figures of national significance who would imbue the buildings with special interest through their association. The buildings stand in the middle of their own grounds; these were originally larger than they are at present and have been chipped away by piecemeal development over the years. There are various listed buildings within the former estate which relate to the former Knowle House. The listed garden structures include the former Gothic summerhouse (Grade II), which dates to the mid-C19 Fish estate. One of the two lodges, the north lodge, is also listed (Grade II). Unlike the main building, this lodge, which also dates to the early to mid- C19 Fish estate phase, retains a strong cottage-ornée style with original windows, decorative timber barge boarding and a little-altered building plan, and gives an idea of the much greater architectural interest which the house may have demonstrated before the later-C19 remodellings.
Overall, the East Devon District Council offices, formerly Knowle House and then the Knowle Hotel, has been too altered, and in its present form lacks sufficient architectural interest, to merit listing in the national context. It is therefore recommended that a Certificate of Immunity from Listing should be issued.

CONCLUSION
The East Devon District Council Offices, formerly known as Knowle Hotel, holds a prominent position overlooking the town of Sidmouth, and has clear local interest. It is, though, not sufficiently distinguished architecturally and is too altered to merit listing in the national context. A COI is recommended.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION
The East Devon District Council Offices, formerly Knowle House and later the Knowle Hotel, built in the early C19 but heavily altered in the 1860s/70s and again on conversion to a hotel in the 1880s, is not recommended for listing, and a Certificate of Immunity from Listing should be issued, for the following principal reasons:
Lack of architectural interest:
very little now remains of the original early-C19 cottage-ornée house, with the later-C19 remodellings having obscured almost all of the earlier building; the present, later-C19, design is very modest and does not demonstrate good quality in architectural style; it has also been significantly altered by the simplification of the exteriors and, crucially, by the replacement of all the windows in uPVC; the interior retains much of its decorative scheme from the 1880s, but its quality is unremarkable; its survival is not sufficient to raise the interest of the building as a whole. Lack of historic interest: the buildings are associated with a number of significant local figures, but these are not of national importance, and their association does not outweigh the lack of architectural interest of the buildings.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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