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Summary

A large house, now subdivided, which was designed by Alexander Lauder and built in circa 1893 as his family home. Built of red brick with a clay tile roof, terracotta finials and chimney pots. It retains good internal features including barrel-vaulted ceiling and remarkable coloured glazed pottery chimneypieces. The chimneypieces, stair panels and chimneys at Ravelin are outstanding examples of the Devon Art Pottery's work.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1385344: RAVELIN MANOR HOUSE AND LITTLE RAVELIN

Other References/Statuses

• Old Listed Building Ref: 485806

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• HOUSE (Built, XIX to Mid 20th Century - 1893 AD to 1966 AD (Between))

Full description

Ordnance Survey, 1904 - 1906, Second Edition Ordnance Survey 25 inch Map (Cartographic). SDV325644.

Shown but not marked.

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

English Heritage, 2013, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV350785.

Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin, Sowden Lane (Formerly Listed as: Constitution Hill Ravelin Manor).
Large house, now subdivided. Probably c1893. By Alexander Lauder of Barnstaple. Red brick and terracotta. Patterned tiled roof with pierced crested ridge-tiles; hipped and decorated with terracotta finials. Patterned round terracotta chimneys in early Tudor style. Stair hall with 2 principal rooms to left and one to rear. Reached from an entrance passage with large service wing to right. EXTERIOR: eclectic Domestic Revival style. 2 storeys. Mixture of Gothic and Tudor styles, 3-window entrance front with large projecting chimney at each end. Doorway flanked by buttresses with Gothic niches containing high-relief male and female figures. Frieze of naked male figures holding swags above. Chimney-breasts decorated with terracotta flowers. Windows segmental-headed; sashes with margin-panes. Other 3 sides similar in character: 2 canted bay windows to left, 1 to rear.
Interior: open-well wood staircase with turned balusters and newels, the latter with pendants; ribbed, barrel-vaulted wood ceiling. On walls of compartment large low-relief cement panels by Lauder depicting scenes from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. In N wall a white terracotta Gothic chimneypiece with heavily-moulded ogee arch and flanking niches; cast-iron grate with patterned coloured tiled surround. In W wall a large stone mullioned-and-transomed window with coloured leaded glass, including circular panels depicting birds and flowers. The 3 main ground-floor rooms have moulded beamed wooden ceilings. SE and NE rooms have ornate wooden surrounds and cast-iron grates. The 4 first-floor rooms (including that over entrance passage) have ribbed wooden barrel-vaulted ceilings and remarkable coloured glazed pottery chimneypieces by Lauder. That in the S room decorated with frogs; tiled hearth with birds; cast-iron basket grate. That in SE room has vines with bunches of grapes; cast-iron grate with surround of patterned tiles probably reused from hearth. That in NE room has round-arched flanking recesses containing female figures; frieze with bat, owl, frog, cat, and lizard; cast-iron basket grate. That in north room decorated with vines, bunches of grapes and lizards; cast-iron basket grate.
Historical note: the house is not shown on the 25-inch Ordnance Survey map of 1890 (surveyed in 1887-8), but is on the 1904 edition. On 9.6.1892 A Lauder applied for consent to erect villa residence in Sowden Lane. It is first referred to by name (then simply Ravelin) in Kelly's Directory for 1897, when Alexander Lauder was already in occupation. The 1893 edition shows him at Bridge Buildings in The Square and does not mention Ravelin, although there is a local tradition that the latter was built for somebody else originally, perhaps under another name. Lauder is notable on 2 counts: the Arts and Crafts architect, William Lethaby, was first articled to him; as the co-founder of the Devon Art Pottery at Pottington in 1876. The chimneypieces, stair panels and chimneys at Ravelin are outstanding examples of its work. (Thomas E: Victorian Art Pottery: London: 1974-: 107; Barnstaple Castle Records, Plans Committee Minute Book, 9.6.1892: 1892-).

Historic England, 2023, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV365228.

Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin, designed by the architect and craftsman Alexander Lauder in about 1893 as his family home, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: for its accomplished design in an eclectic Domestic Revival style featuring good quality materials and exhibiting high-quality craftsmanship and attention to decorative detailing throughout; for its artistic distinction as an illustration of the breadth of Lauder’s skill as an architect, artist, and craftsman and his emphasis on fixtures and fittings being artworks in their own right; for the complete survival of 21 bas-relief sgraffito panels designed and executed in-situ by Lauder which reflect the late 19th century revival of the craft; for its retention of fireplaces produced by Lauder’s firm the Royal Devon Art Pottery.

Amendment to the listing dated 23/10/2023. See Historic England's listing description for full details.

Historic England, 2023, Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin, Barnstaple (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV365747.

Historic England has been asked to consider Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin in Barnstaple, Devon for upgrading from Grade II to Grade II*.

The Grade-II listing of Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin as the best survival of his domestic work
seems appropriate in its context. It is an accomplished Domestic Revival style villa, with an interior influenced by the Aesthetic Movement and its emphasis on its fixtures and fittings being artworks in their own right. It is the survival of the interior at Ravelin which may warrant its consideration for a higher grade. The interior is certainly a principal reason for its listing at Grade II with its fixtures and fittings including Royal Devon Art Pottery fireplaces and sgraffito panels.

At Ravelin, whilst the sgraffito panels are a principal reason for the building’s special interest, they
are not a reason in themselves to justify upgrading, and the panels should be considered alongside the other fixtures and fittings at Ravelin. It is clear that a variety of artistic techniques and styles are employed, and the interior, which now lacks an overall cohesiveness, is perhaps best understood as a catalogue of Lauder’s abilities as a craftsman, rather than a decorative scheme. This, however, combined with the more standard treatment of fixtures and fittings such as the staircase, as well as the removal of the ground-floor fireplaces and the subdivision of the house into two dwellings, means that the interior is not exceptionally intact nor an overall outstanding scheme that would merit the building’s upgrading to Grade II*.

In conclusion, Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin is appropriately listed at Grade II as the best survival of Lauder’s domestic work. It does not have more than special interest and is not recommended for upgrading to Grade II*. The List entry should however be amended to better articulate its special architectural and historic interest. See listing description for October 2023 amendment.

Historic England, 2023, Ravelin Manor House and Little Ravelin, Ravelin Gardens, Barnstaple, Devon (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV365612.

Notification that Historic England are currently considering the upgrading of the building from Grade II to Grade II*.
Ravelin was originally a single property, designed in an eclectic domestic revival style by the architect and craftsman, Alexander Lauder (1836-1921) as his family home and built circa 1893. He founded, together with his brother in law, Lauder and Smith brickworks in 1876 and subsequently bought shares in the Marland Brick and Clay Works; the clay beds here providing a better clay than that previously used. Lauder and Smith became the Devon Art Pottery, its designs inspired by the natural world.
Lauder was an important, local figure becoming Mayor of Barnstaple in the 1880s. He was also a Methodist lay preacher.
Ravelin features brick, terracotta work and tiles produced by Lauder's firm. It is a two storey villa, built of red brick and terracotta under a clay tile roof with crested ridge tiles, terracotta finials and terracotta chimney pots. The interior includes decorative tile fireplaces and, in the hall,
a sgraffito mural with the theme of A Midsummer Night's Dream that Lauder did himself.
The land around the house was developed for housing in the mid 20th century and Ravelin was divided into two properties at about this time.
See report for full details.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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