Plympton House

Plympton House in the parish of Plympton St Maurice, Devon, is a grand Grade I listed country house, in the William-and Mary tradition, near St Maurice's Church in Plympton, commenced by Sir George I Treby (1643–1700) and completed circa 1715–20 by his son George II Treby (c.1684–1742). The architect is unknown, however accounts in 1720 refer to William Veale, mason.

The house has had three main uses in its 300 year history: firstly a family home; secondly an asylum; and thirdly a convent and residential care home. Having been disused for several years, in 2016 a new plan was announced to bring the estate back into regular use with a sensitive redevelopment plan, creating a community of 14 homes across the site.

The main entrance to Plympton House is from Longcause to the south. Two pairs of tall stone gate piers (listed grade II) set in a concave red-brick boundary wall with up-swept coping (listed grade II) are surmounted by stone heraldic beasts. The central pair of gate piers support simple wrought-iron gates which give access to the south drive which follows an S-shaped course across the south lawn to reach stone steps below the south facade of the House. There is a second entrance to the estate, the West Gate from George Lane, which passes the remains of the early 18th century stables and dairy barn to reach a courtyard on the west side of the House.

The principal or south facade of the main building is of Portland stone and comprises two storeys above a basement. The central pediment is ornamented with a carved coat of arms, and the facade is articulated by rusticated quoins. Due to the lie of the land, the basement storey is exposed to view on the west side of the building, which is constructed in brick with stone quoins and segment-headed windows. Externally the House is largely unaltered since the early 18th century, except for the construction of a late 20th century east wing which housed ensuite bedrooms for the care home and a modern west wing which houses accommodation for the nuns and the chapel.

The early 18th century stables and dairy barn stand to the north-west of the House. To the north-west there are further walled enclosures and courts, one of which formerly served as a wood yard.

Early 18th century walled garden enclosures surround the House, and the rectangular plot is divided into two unequal halves by the service drive and the House. The main garden lies below the south facade of the House and is of about the same width as the building. It runs down to the principal entrance on Longcause. West of it, and parallel to it, lies the kitchen garden, between the north end of which and the south elevation of the stables is the Mount Garden. To the north of the House is a court, set into rising ground, which is laid down to grass. Parallel to the west facade of the House, and separated from it by a brick wall, is a narrow walk which extends the length of the kitchen garden, from which it is screened by a second high brick wall (listed grade II). At the north end of this walk a gate leads into the north-east corner of the Mount Garden which lies to the south-west of the House and to the north of the kitchen garden. This walled enclosure is dominated by a large mount c 3.5m high, which occupies most of the area. The south face of the north wall of the Mount Garden is constructed with recessed arcading for espaliered fruit trees.

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