Posted by Philip Wallinder
9 September 2024This September sees the return of the annual Heritage Open Days, with sites up and down the country organising events for free to curious visitors that showcase the rich history of our local areas. One of the properties that will be opening its doors this year is Kirkham House, a late medieval house managed by English Heritage (and open this coming weekend). To whet our appetites, Philip Wallinder took a look around …
On Sunday 18th August I visited Kirkham House in Paignton with some colleagues from the Centre for Medieval Studies. Kirkham House is one of the oldest medieval town houses in England and has possibly the oldest original fireplace still in use. The house is only usually open for bank holidays and on Sundays through July and August each summer, but it is also open as part of the Heritage Open Day Festival this year on the 7th 8th, 14th and 15th of September.
Previously known as, âthe priestâs houseâ, Kirkham was almost demolished in the 1930s before being purchased by a local widow, Mrs. Ada Jennings. Mrs Jennings intended to renovate the house, but died in 1944 before the work could begin. However, she left ÂŁ900 (roughly ÂŁ33,000 in todayâs money) for renovations and the work was carried out by English Heritage in the 1960s. In the 1980s the local council commissioned craftspeople to produce traditional furniture to fill the rooms. These arenât exactly medieval reproductions, but they give a sense of the original use of the rooms, rather than leaving them empty.
I call Kirkham a âtownhouseâ but when the house was built (probably in the later 14th Century) Paignton was only a small village, albeit already boasting one of the palaces of the Bishop of Exeter. Originally, the house had extensive grounds, including an orchard and a separate kitchen block (now in ruins). Today, only a portion of garden remains at the back of the house, but the building retains its original cross-passage which would have allowed people and animals to pass directly from the street to the orchard.
The cross-passage originally led to a parlour on the left and a hall on the right; at the back of the hall a simple set of stairs that led to the first floor, with two bedrooms, one of which partially over-hangs the hall. Later, in the 16th Century, the house was extended to add an extra room, both on the ground and first floors, at which time the hall was also foreshortened by the addition of a dividing wall. The house was also extended at the rear to create a passage-lengthwise, with a separate staircase. As a result of these additions the new bedroom could be accessed via a corridor without having to pass through the previous rooms on the first floor, a fairly innovative feature at the time.
There is some disagreement on why the house was built and for whom. The presence of a piscina in both the hall and parlour (removed in the 19th Century) suggests it was intended to house clerics, possibly monks attached to Torre Abbey, but the location and layout of the house is more in keeping with a well-to-do merchant. The house is a short walk from Paigntonâs medieval church, and its original name of âthe priestâs houseâ suggests it might have been the rectorâs house or associated with the nearby bishopâs palace. The name âKirkhamâ originally belong to the now-demolished house on the other side of the road, but actually means something like âpriestâs landâ in the local Devon dialect. The farthest room on the first floor, which was added in the 16th Century, is often interpreted as being a servantâs room, but it is the only room on that floor with a fireplace (the other rooms would have been heated from below) and its own private garderobe.
After visiting the house, we also visited the old âclinkâ, a sort of medieval drunk tank intended to house miscreants and prisoners, and climbed the stairs of the one remaining tower from the bishopâs palace. Our guide explained that the tower was primarily a lookout intended to spot approaching Barbary Pirates, but it would probably also have been useful for spotting the French!
We finished our exploration with the parish church of St John the Baptist. The church is substantial. The current building dates from the 13th Century, but the font is Norman. If you look closely, you can see that the two arcades which support the roof point outwards, but they havenât collapsed yet, so the roofâs probably not going to fall in!
Thanks to the Paignton Heritage Society for hosting the events at Paignton House. The full programme of Heritage Open Days events runs this year from 6th September to 15th September; for a complete list of events taking place near Exeter, see this link.