Draft:Trehill House

Draft article not currently submitted for review. This is a draft Articles for creation (AfC) submission. It is not currently pending review. While there are no deadlines, abandoned drafts may be deleted after six months. To edit or make changes to this draft, simply click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. To be accepted, a draft should: Show the subject qualifies for a Wikipedia article by using multiple sources that meet four criteria. The sources should be (1) reliable (2) secondary (3) independent of the subject (4) talk about the subject in some depth. For some topics, there are alternative criteria. Be written from a neutral point of view Respect copyright and do not plagiarize. Do not copy-paste. It is strongly discouraged to write about either yourself or your business or employer. If you do so, you must declare it. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Last edited by Bearcat (talk | contribs) 5 months ago. (Update) Submit the draft for review!

Trehill House is a Grade II* listed Greek Revival country house in the parish of Kenn, near Exeter, Devon, England. Built in 1827 for the Ley family, it is considered one of the most important examples of domestic Greek Revival architecture in Devon.

There has been a house at Trehill since at least the medieval period. In the late Elizabethan and early Jacobean era the property was occupied by Richard Waltham (1560–1637), Recorder of Exeter, whose monument survives in St Andrew’s Church, Kenn.

From the early 18th century until 1953 Trehill was the principal seat of the Ley family, whose Devon lineage extended back to the 15th century. Members of the family were prominent in the legal profession, and three served as Clerks to the Table in the House of Commons. A painting of the House of Commons in 1801 in the National Portrait Gallery includes John Ley of Trehill in this role.

An earlier red sandstone house on or near the present site was largely destroyed by fire in 1826. The present house was commissioned by John Ley and rebuilt in 1827 in the Greek Revival style to designs by the architect Charles Robert Ayres. Material from the earlier building and from a nearby quarry was reused. The new structure was erected on a slightly higher and more southerly position.

The Ley family remained at Trehill until 1953, when the house and surrounding acreage were sold. In the late 1950s the building was divided into nine flats. By the early 1980s it had become partly derelict. In 1984 the property was acquired by Roger Chubb, a former auctioneer and arts administrator, in partnership with Jay Ruparelia. A programme of restoration followed, combining conservation of the principal interiors with the creation of self-contained residential units within the building and associated estate structures.

Trehill House is built of stuccoed red sandstone and is approximately square in plan, about 74 feet (23 m) on each side, with a four-storey bow on the east elevation. The west front is approached by steps leading to a Doric portico. A balustraded parapet conceals the upper storey and mansard roof. A raised basement level lies partly below ground and formerly contained offices and service rooms.

The plan is arranged around a central, top-lit stair hall with a cantilevered staircase rising to a gallery. The principal floor (piano nobile) contains the main reception rooms, noted for their symmetry, large sash windows with narrow glazing bars, and varied decorative cornices.

Interior features described in published accounts include plaster bas-relief friezes in the entrance hall reputed to be copied from the sarcophagus of Alexander the Great, wall niches originally intended for classical statuary, and a library with a three-windowed bow and tiered bookcases in an Adam-influenced style. The library retains an Ashburton marble chimneypiece with ormolu mounts and Regency fittings. Other principal rooms include drawing and dining rooms with Regency grates, decorative cornices, and Gothic Revival pelmets. Surviving service areas illustrate the building’s former role as a largely self-contained estate house.

Trehill stands in a wooded combe below Telegraph Hill, overlooking parkland and the village of Kenn. Historically the estate included stables, laundry, dairy buildings, kitchen offices, cottages, and other service structures in red Devon sandstone. A five-bay orangery was relocated to Trehill in the 19th century from Winslade Park following a family marriage connection.

The gardens and parkland contain mature specimen trees and shrub plantings, including camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons and magnolias, and incorporate terraces, drives, and a water garden with ornamental structures. Parts of the former stable block and lodges have been converted to residential use.

Trehill House was designated a Grade II* listed building on 11 November 1952, in recognition of its architectural and historic interest. The listing identifies it as a particularly important Greek Revival country house retaining significant original features.

• Historic England, Trehill House, Kenn (List Entry No. 1306949).
• Devon Life magazine, feature articles on Trehill House, 1970s–1980s.

• Historic England listing entry for Trehill House

Category:Country houses in Devon Category:Grade II* listed buildings in Devon Category:Grade II* listed houses Category:Greek Revival architecture in the United Kingdom Category:Houses completed in 1827