notable local Nethway HOUSES


N


ethway stands just beyond the village of Kingswear in a shallow valley that slopes down towards the coast. The history of the house’s


ownership is eclectic, with possession frequently passing between unrelated parties rather than from generation to generation within the same family. Nethway’s current occupant, Lynne Maurer - a recent addition to Kingswear Parish Council - was kind enough to let us have a snoop around this fascinating property and to offer an insight into its chequered past. the house we see today, built in 1696, originally stood


at four storeys tall with an estate that reached all the way to the River Dart. the ground floor windows have since been covered over by the addition of a garden bank and terrace, resulting in the three storey house and subter- ranean cellar. the grounds, too, have receded over time and the boundaries now lie along the hills immediately surrounding the property. While the simple rectangular plan and grey brick


walls have left some to describe Nethway as austere in its beauty, the interior of the house proves quite the opposite. upon entering you are greeted by the exuberant putti (dating from around 1700) that spreads across the wall above the fireplace, interwoven with painted cherubs and flowers. In the main hall, a wide staircase wraps itself around three of the walls and plaster eagles carrying olive branches decorate the ceiling above.


By the Dart takes a look at some local houses that have an interesting story to them.


one fascinating quirk is Nethway’s claim of being a


Calendar House. A Calendar House is a property that symbolically contains architectural elements in quantities that reflect the number of days, weeks and months in a year. Lynne has been assured that the building meets these requirements, though there are still parts she is yet to verify. For example, the four chimneys of the house could reflect the four seasons and the fifty-two windows may mimic the weeks of the year. However, further research would need to be carried out before we can label Nethway as a Calendar House with complete confidence. though we can date the current house to the end of the 17th century, this was not the first house to be built on this site. the previous property dates back to at least the late 1300s. Its first recorded owners were the Cole family. Via marriage it transferred to sir John Hody from somerset. Nethway came to more harm than good under the care of the Hody family, with the font in the chapel allegedly being used as a pig’s trough. By the end of the 17th century the main house was in


a state of considerable disrepair having sustained major fire damage. the Hody’s began rebuilding the property but sold if off before it was finished to a Devonshire man called John Fownes. thankfully, Fownes took it upon himself to complete the restoration of the house’s interior. A good deal of what we can see today is a result of his effort, formally commemorated by a red sandstone plaque


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