Listed Building record MDO39415 - Mappercombe Manor, Powerstock

An early 17th century manor house, with some surviving 15th century fabric. A number of structures are associated with the house, including a cider house, a dovecote and a barn. These date from the 18th century.

At one time Mappercombe was a manor and Hamlet or a member of Nettlecombe, but now consists solely of two farms. Near one was formerly a chapel, of which there are some remains. <1>

The house. The S.E part of the front block dates from the 15th.c. the property passed to the families of DIXWELL in 1621, and BROWNE in 1637 Early in the 17th.c. the house was extended or rebuilt to the W, and after 1674 a new range was built to the N.W. This range was shortened in modern times, when the former porch on the S front was removed and large additions made on the NE.

The upper room in the small E. wing is called the chapel, and has a recess with a trefoiled head in the S. wall.

The outbuilding S.W. of the house is probably of the 17th.c. and bears the date 1736 - perhaps a repair date. <3>

This large and well preserved mansion has had its alterations completed in stone and in style to match the whole. Windows are mullioned.

The chapel referred to in T2 <1> is situated at A and measures 3.0m East-West and 4.0m North to South. From the description in T2 <1> this would not appear to be the original chapel which may have existed at B. This stone building is of two stories, is well preserved and is now used as a cider house. Though it lacks features of an ecclesiastical nature it is orientated East-West. The datestone referred to is set high in the East wall. <4>

Known as MAPPERCOMBE MANOR - for personal reasons I do not wish it shown by the Ordnance Survey in antiquity type. As far as I know there is no foundation for the allegation that the outbuilding [At B] has ever been used for ecclesiastic purposes, and I personally believe that the chapel has always been contained within the fabric of the mansion [At A] <5.1>. No additional information obtained re. this alleged chapel, the building bears upon the E. gable apex a weathervane inscribed NB 1699 (possibly related to the BROWNE quoted in T.2), but apart from this feature and the date stone (T.2 & T.3) there are no indications of date and/or purpose. Mansion as T.2. <5>

Mappercombe Manor House. Grade I. Additionally, the Cider House (1736), a cottage dated 1698 10m. N.W of the Manor House, and a dovecote (1747) 15m. East of the Manor House are all Grade II*. <6-7>

<1> Shipp, W, and Hodson, J W (eds), 1863, The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset. 3rd edition. Volume 2, 320 (Monograph). SWX1269.

<2> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Map 6in, 1931 (Map). SWX1540.

[SY 51209512] CHAPEL [GT] (Remains of) MAPPERCOMBE MANOR [T.I]

<3> Royal Commission on Historical Monuments England, 1952, An Inventory of Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, Volume I (West), 184 (Monograph). SDO97.

'(4) MAPPERCOMBE MANOR HOUSE and outbuildings, nearly ¾ m. S.S.W. of the church. The House is of two storeys, partly with cellars and attics; the walls are of rubble and ashlar and the roofs are tiled. The S.E. part of the front block dates from the 15th century. Early in the 17th century the house was much extended or rebuilt towards the W. The property passed to Basil Dixwell in 1621 and to the family of Browne in 1637. After 1674 a new range was built to the N.W. This wing was shortened in modern times when the former porch of the S. front was removed and large additions were made on the N.E. The S. front (Plate 39) has ashlar-facing to the 17th-century portion and stonemullioned windows of the same period, of three and four lights; the five-light windows occupy the place of the former porch; the ground-floor windows have moulded cornices. The W. side of this block has 17th-century stone-mullioned windows and the doorway has a moulded oak frame. The E. end has a small projecting 15th-century wing with square-headed windows to the ground floor and original windows to the upper floor, one of a single trefoiled light on the S. and another on the E. of two trefoiled lights with pierced spandrels in a square head with a label with head-stops. The S. front of the late 17th-century N.W. wing has a doorway with moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head; above it is a sun-dial with rams' heads and a swag over it; the windows are stone-mullioned and of two, three and five lights; the lower windows have moulded cornices. On a parapet gable of this range is the date 169 . . Inside the building are some exposed ceiling-beams. The W. room of the S. block has a 17th-century plaster frieze of running vine-ornament and a stone fireplace with architrave, pulvinated frieze, cornice and a blank shield in the middle of the frieze. The room above has a similar frieze; the fireplace has moulded jambs and four-centred arch in a square head. The upper room in the small E. wing, called the chapel, has a recess with a trefoiled head in the S. wall; the next room to the W. has a stone fireplace with a segmental head. In the N.W. block, the Dining Room has a reset 17th-century overmantel of four panelled bays with enriched divisions; the panels have four painted shields-of-arms. Elsewhere are some fragments of 17th and 18th-century panelling.'

<4> Rigg, J, Field Investigators Comments JR, F1 JR 02-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SWX1255.

<5> Colquhoun, F D, Field Investigators Comments FDC, F2 FDC 11-MAY-55 (Unpublished document). SWX2609.

<5.1> Crutchley, Admiral Sir Victor, Oral: Admiral Sir Victor Crutchley (owner/occupier), Mappercombe Manor, Powerstock (Verbal communication). SDO19120.

<6> Newman, J, and Pevsner, N, 1972, The Buildings of England: Dorset, 345 (Monograph). SWX1290.

<7> Department of the Environment, 1984, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest: District of West Dorset (Parishes of Burstock, Broadwindsor, Mapperton, Netherbury, North Poorton, Pilsdon, Powerstock and Stoke Abbott), 77-8 (Scheduling record). SDO16351.

<8> Morriss, Richard K, 2010, Mappercombe Manor, Powerstock, Dorset. An Architectural and Archaeological Analysis and Impact Assessment Proposals for Alterations (Unpublished document). SDO15402.

<9> National Record of the Historic Environment, 450892 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2022 4:37PM