| Summary: | This report presents the results of an historic buildings assessment carried out by South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) for Tordown House, Tordown, Swimbridge, at the request of its new owners.
The Listed building description for Tordown House describes it as being of early 19th century appearance but of 17th century or earlier origin, and this appears to be correct. There are 17th century features in the kitchen wing, which may have been an earlier, possibly unheated, building of one or one and a half storeys. The main house may have superseded an earlier one, but the most likely interpretation is that a minor gentry house, probably with service functions in the separate kitchen wing, was built here for the Nott Family in the mid 18th century. It was extended to the east and linked to the kitchen wing in the later 18th century and underwent a series of changes during the course of the 19th century, when it was used as a dower house or rented to local clergymen.
The primary value of the building lies in its atypical floor plan, which evidences this complex narrative, its quirky aesthetics, and its attempts to maintain symmetry. It has high evidential value and contains some good late Georgian/Regency fittings and spaces that echo the aspirations of its prosperous owners. There is also added historical value from the connection the locally important Nott Family, but particularly to the Rev. John Russell, the breeder of the eponymous Jack Russell terriers.
With some notable exceptions, most of the interior retains its Regency and mid Victorian fittings (doors, skirting, windows etc.), allowing the 19th century development of the house to be explored and understood. The later decorative elements to be found in the ground floor rear corridor, study, and dining room are more controversial, as they indulge in historical pastiche, unconvincingly mixing modern and historic elements, that are not otherwise represented in the house. It must be acknowledged that this work was undertaken by the minor modernist artist Gerald Moore, and thus it may have some associative value. However, it is felt that the dining room in particular ought to be returned to a more appropriate style, as the mock panelling etc. is of particularly of poor quality. Should works to the house or associated structures go beyond the removal of the modern elements, it should be accompanied by a programme of more detailed historic building recording. |
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