National Trust

90411

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Description:  A 14th-15th century hall house, probably the manor house of Trevena. It served as a post office from 1844-1892 and was saved from destruction by the artist Catherine Johns from whom the Trust purchased the building for a nominal sum of œ100 in 1900. The architect Detmar Blow restored the building shortly afterwards.
It is constructed of killas, with a few dressings of greenstone, and has a slate covered roof. It is entered through a porch (an early addition) and is of three cell plan with: to the right of the cross passage, what is now known as the "parlour", with an upper chamber (accessed by a straight staircase); the hall, open to the roof, to the S (left) of the passage; and further S beyond the hall the "post room", also with an upper chamber (accessed by a spiral staircase, at the rear (W end) of the hall).
Summary of the Historic Building Analysis: The Old Post Office, Tintagel, Cornwall (2003)
Archaeologists: Eric Berry, Dr. Joanna Mattingly and Nigel Thomas
The historic building analysis was commissioned by the National Trust in order to improve the understanding of the Old Post Office in Trevena, Tintagel and inform its future conservation by enhancing its interpretation. This building, a medieval hall house, is the best known of its type in Cornwall mostly due to its picturesque vernacular appearance. It is remarkable not only for the extent of survival of historic fabric, but also that so much of its essential structure is visible and not hidden under layers of later accretion of features or finishes as is so usual with historic buildings.
New research has found no evidence to substantiate the claims that the building was ever a manor or steward’s house. It was one of the more substantial houses in the medieval borough of Trevena and probably served as home to some of the town’s reeves and mayors drawn from the ranks of local yeomen, merchants and gentry. After the collapse of the borough in 1832, it was a farmhouse and remained in the hands of one family—the Symons—down to 1895.
The building’s name is derived from its brief use as a Royal Mail District Receiving Office in the third quarter of the 19th century. By the later 19th century the village of Trevea had become known as Tintagel, mostly due to its popularity with tourists and its connections with the Arthurian legend. It had also caught the attention of artists, photographers, writers and poets and there was concern for the survival of older buildings against a background of rapid exploitation and change in the village. The Old Post Office was subsequently purchased by the artist Catherine Johns with a view to its preservation. In the 1890s the building was the subject of an informed repair by the enthusiastic young Arts and Crafts architect Detmar Blow. In 1903 the building became only the second building acquired by the National Trust.
A vernacular building report undertaken by the Trust in 1989 provided a glimpse into the potential of further study. Essential roof repairs and re-fastening of all the rag slate covering in 1992 provided an opportunity for further investigation. It is the purpose of the 2003 building analysis to consider all the available information about the building; including its history, its surviving historic fabric and features, and to put these findings into the context of what is known about comparable buildings in Cornwall and beyond.
Results of the building analysis confirmed much that was assumed by previous investigation but also came to some conclusions that add to the complexity of the interpretation. The principal findings identify the core fabric of a single-storey, 3-room and trough-passage medieval house, a radical re-roofing in the 16th century, a hall fireplace inserted a little later, then an extension to the hall, then flooring in of the areas adjacent to the hall and an extension to the higher end room. The fireplaces at the present gable ends are later insertions. Construction of these appears to have been accompanied by slight truncation of the internal length of the building. Strong features which provide much of the distinctive character of the building such as the porch doorway, the mullioned window, and the numerous greenstone slit windows may be derived from other, now demolished, buildings.
The building analysis report is broken down into the following parts:
Introduction—outlines the project background, previous archaeological and historic building recording, and the project aims and objectives.
Methodology—explains how the archaeologists working on this project used desk-based research, fieldwork, and post-fieldwork to analyze the Old Post Office.
Location and Setting—describes other early buildings in Trevena in order to provide a context for the Old Post Office and discusses photographic and drawn evidence of the area.
History—details the history of the building from the time it was built (the medieval period) until the time of the report (2003).
Building Description—describes the physical building, how the space is divided, and the materials used in its construction.
Structural Sequence—describes the changes made to the building from the medieval period to the 20th century.
Significance—explains why the Old Post Office is a Listed I building and offers comparisons to other buildings in the area.
Discussion—the discussion section offers an interpretation of the evidence gathered in the report.
Recommendations—suggests future surveys, repairs, and excavations
The report also contains a lengthy bibliography and several appendices which offer historical evidence about the building.

Status: Listed Building
Grade: I

Country:  England

County:  Cornwall

District:  North Cornwall

Parish:  Tintagel

Grid Reference:   SX056884

Map Reference:  [EPSG:27700] 205629, 88468

Period:  1844 - 1892, 1300 - 1499

Subject:  OPEN HALL HOUSE, HALL HOUSE, MANOR HOUSE, POST OFFICE

Identifiers: 
[ADS] Depositor Id: 90411
[ADS] Associated Id: HBSMR Id: MNA100727
[ADS] Import RCN: NTSMR-MNA100727

People Involved: 
[Publisher] National Trust