Bishop S House, 3 and 5 Lower Street

Bishop’s House, 3 and 5 lower Street

Is listed Grade II* and when listed was described as:

‘2 houses, once a single house. Early C16 with later C16 and C17 improvements, subdivided probably in the late C19 or early C20. Plastered granite; granite stack with plastered chimney shaft; thatch roof.

Plan and Development: Originally a 3-room-and-through-passage plan house set back from the street facing north-west. No. 3 is a 2-room plan cottage occupying the former hall and inner room to right of the passage. The hall has a large axial stack backing onto the passage and there is a newel stair turret projecting to rear at the upper end of the hall. No.5 is a 1-room plan cottage occupying the former service end room. 2-storey front porch, the upper room belonging to No. 5. It seems that the original house was open to the roof from end to end and probably heated by an open hearth fire. Through the later C16 and C17 the fireplace was inserted and the rooms progressively floored over. Porch was added in late C16-earlyC17. Both cottages have C20 service outshots to rear. Main block is 2 storeys.

Exterior: 1:1:2-window front of mostly C20 iron or timber-framed casements with glazing bars. The porch is gabled and the room over jetties forward on moulded granite corbels resting on rubble side walls, the right one particularly thick (it contains the hall fireplace oven housing). On the left side there is a C17 oriel window to the first floor porch room; it has canted sides but the lights are now blocked and it rests on shaped oak brackets. Alongside to the left of the porch is a C19 plank door inserted to the service end room (No. 5). The front passage doorway contains a similar door but it occupies the original arch-headed oak frame (showing to rear only). The roof is gable-ended.

Good interior: both sides of the passage are stone rubble walls and the lower side doorway has been blocked. The hall (No. 3) contains the only fireplace in the whole house; large probably late C16, granite ashlar with hollow-chamfered surround and blocked side oven. At the upper end is an oak plank-and-muntin screen, probably an original low partition. The muntins are chamfered with straight cut stops highenough for an upper end bench and the screen contains a shoulder-headed door. Probably in the mid C16 the inner room was floored (over) and the (upper) chamber was jettied into the hall and the rounded ends of the joists project over the screen. In the inner room a trimmer shows the position of the former ladder access to the chamber. The hall was floored (over) in the early C17; its crossbeams are deeply chamfered with step stops. At the same time a newel stair was provided to rear of the hall. Its oak doorframe is ovolo-moulded, the steps are baulks of oak and there are 2 chamfered and step-stopped doorframes from a tight landing to the first floor chambers. Most of the doors in this part (No. 3) are very old and some may be original. The service end room (No. 5) has a plain axial beam of indeterminate date and the winder stair here is C19. The roof overall is 4 bays. The lower end truss is a true cruck. The hall has a side-pegged jointed cruck with a cambered collar and another has been closed between the halland inner room chambers. The roofspace is inaccessible but smoke-blackened timbers and thatch are suspected.

This is a very well-preserved multi-phase house’.

Originally then a prestigious town house, in which a Bishop visiting Chagford might well have stayed. Perhaps this is the origin of the name. We have no documentary evidence for this.

From the deeds we can see that Bishops House was divided into two dwellings in the early 1800s. Winefride Ellis sold it in the mid 1990s. Since thenit has been sympathetically restored to a single dwelling by the present owners David and Jane Wheeler, to include uncovering the oriel window we now admire; unblocking the (extremely large) oven, which may once have provided for the local community; and verifying blackened roof timbers and thatch in keeping with the original open hearth.

Deeds in the possession of the late Dick Collins – his wife Winefride Collins (nee Ellis), inherited the house - show changes in ownership, tenancy and structure over the last 240 years: (Not for the faint-hearted !)

In 1804 an Abstract of Mr. William Hooper’s titles to Bishops House and Dabhays refers to:

i) 3rd and 4th August 1772 John Gawler with a 4th part interest in:

‘The messuages lands and heredits amongst divers manors lands and heredits – the manor of Rushford – all that Tenement or Cottage called Dabhays and Bishops House with the land thereto belonging a house, field and garden one acre and a quarter’ –

ii) 27th and 28th December 1787 a Lease and Release between John Gawler, Essex St. parish of St. Clement Danes, Middlesex, Esq. and John Hooper of Withecombe in the parish of Chagford, Esq.

In 1793:The Will of John Hooper bequeaths:

‘all his messuages lands and heredits to his sister Betty Hooper for her lifetime – then to William Hooper son of the testator’s late cousin William Hooper deceased’.

Thereafter in1810 2 documents between William Hooper of AshburtonYeoman and Mr. John Dodd of Teigncombe Chagford Yeoman: i) a Lease ‘subject to the rent in barley corn if so demanded’ and ii) a Release in Fee ‘for £207 10s John Dodd in actual possession by virtue of 5s yearly rent All that messuage tenement or Cottage called Bishops House in or nr. Sutcombe Street – lately divided into two dwellings in the occupationsof John Scutt and John Berry. And all that field or close called Dabhays ---

The Will of John Dodd deceased dated 17th July 1811 leaves ‘Bishops House to William Hooper of Ashburton Yeoman, but for the use of his wife Joan Dodd for her natural life and thereafter one half to the use of his son William Dodd and one half to his daughter Grace Dodd for her natural life and after her death to the use of his son William Dodd’

In October 1829 Jane Dodd widow and relict of William Dodd labourer who died intestate was granted full power of all goods chattels and credits of the deceased.

29th Jan. 1836 Lease between Mr. Wm Dodd of Teigncombe yeoman to Mr. Wm. Scott of Chagford, Boot and Shoemaker for 5s – ‘Bishops House; and one field called Dabhays formerly in the occupation of William Nosworthy, afterwards of John Dodd, the grandfather of William Dodd and now of the said Wm. Dodd - for one year and with rent of one peppercorn at expiration of that term if demanded’ .

29th November 1844 Demise of Bishops House and Dabhays for 1000 years ‘in trust for sale for securing £150 and interest’ by Mr. Wm. Scott of Chagford and Mr. Wm. Dodd late of Chagford now of North Bovey yeoman to Mr. Anthony Ellis of Jurston yeoman executor. Bishops House here described as ‘divided into two dwellings formerly in the occupation of one John Scutt and one John Berry and now or lately of Wm. Mortimer together also with the two dwelling houses lately erected by the said Wm. Dodd on a part of or adjoining to the said premises’.

15th October 1872 Mortgage - Mr. William Dodd to Mr. John Cole. Mr. William Dodd of North Bovey farmer (1st part); Mr. John Cole Dunsford Gentleman (2nd part); and Richard Elias Bishop of Torquay Gentleman (3rd part) on Dabhays and Bishops House. ‘Bishops House now or late consisting of two or more dwelling houses and now and late occupied by Andrew Rowe, Mrs Colins(sic) Mrs Wills and Mrs Rowe’.

In 1874 the Will of William Dodd of North Bovey Yeoman leaves to my son William Dodd all those four dwelling houses – called Bishops Houses now in the occupation of Andrew Rowe, John Osborn, Joseph Collins and Henry Endacott also my field called Daperhay(sic).

The Mortgage is transferred to Miss K.A.Berry Exeter, Mr. R.W.Berry Dunsford, and Mr. J.James Exeter in 1901 as executors to the Wills of John Cole and his wife Mary Cole. (An Indenture between Mary Cole and George Cole Collins in 1887 involved property near Grammers Lane).

In 1912 a Reconveyance of Bishops Houses and Dabhays between Miss K.A.Berry the mortgagee and Mr. Ernest Tom Dodd of Chatham Kent Tailor the Mortgagor. This document notes that William Dodd the elder died 1874, his son William died at Shapley, North Bovey without issue in 1894 and George Dodd died 1885 intestate leaving the Mortgagor his eldest son and heir E.T.Dodd.

Some later tenants include Jim Standlake – Dick Rowe remembered him in the 1920s ‘living at Bishops House, drawing the salt in tons from Moreton Station to Mr. Collins the Grocer, with a lovely black horse known to all the children as Hector’.

Parish Council Minutes note W. Daymond of Bishops House was allocated No. 16 Dennis Park in 1943.