Mount Wear House, Countess Wear Road, Exeter (OASIS ID: oakforda1-167848)
Oakford Archaeology, 2014. https://doi.org/10.5284/1027059. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 1699
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1027059
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
The historical building recording at Mount Wear House (SX 9412 8983) was commissioned by the current owner of the property in advance of the complete refurbishment of the house and outbuildings. Refurbishment works involved the removal of modern partitions and their replacement with a new range, access arrangements and new facilities. The work was carried out as a condition of planning permission (ref. 13/0167/03, condition 6) granted by Exeter City Council for the conversion of the existing buildings to 3 dwellings and 4 flats.
Mount Wear House is a Grade II Listed small, former country house lying a short distance to the south of the village of Countess Wear. Although now a suburb of Exeter, some three miles from the city centre, Countess Wear was once a settlement in its own right on the banks of the River Exe. The site was formerly part of the medieval manor of "La Sege" which became "Hyneton Sege" and then "Wear" after Isabella de Redvers, Countess of Devon, constructed the weir in 1284.
Mount Wear House is an important historic farmstead within the Countess Wear area, its size reflecting a large and prosperous farming establishment. The layout of the house perpetuates that of an earlier house which was probably first constructed as a three room and cross-passage house in the early 17th century. The building may possibly have had an open hall originally, but if so it seems that it was rapidly fully storeyed. By the mid 17th century it had become a farm of some pretension as is attested by the presence of a sgraffito fireplace in the main range.
The most extensive alterations were carried out in the late 17th century when the house was extended by the addition of a cross wing, and much of the original main cob elevation was demolished and replaced with a symmetrical façade with decorative stucco finish. Despite many later alterations, the building remains substantially as it was at this time.
By the middle of the 19th century an agricultural outbuilding was partly demolished and rebuilt to provide more living space, connected to the rear wing by a service passage, while a new porch was added by the early 20th century.
During the 20th century the interior of the house was substantially altered and it is probably at this time that the last vestiges of the original ground floor partitions were removed when the first floor was underpinned. A number of large extensions were added to the side and rear of the main house, obscuring important elements of the building.
The large building at the eastern end of the farmyard originated in the 18th century as a barn, subsequently undergoing a number of renovations and alterations. The southern portion originated as a threshing barn with opposed doorways, before it was converted to a stable in the 19th century, while the remainder of the building appears to have been converted to living accommodation at this time. The northern end of the barn continued in use as a cart shed.
The early development of the small outbuilding is not understood, although it latterly served as a coach house before being converted to accommodation.
The house has a complex structural history; the subsequent additions have tended only to conceal the substantial interest of this house.
