Prysten House is a

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

15th century merchant's house situated close to St Andrew's Church in the city of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, England. It is a large U-shaped three storey split level house built 1498 and extended 1635.

Construction

It is constructed from Plymouth

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

rubble using

relieving arch A discharging arch or relieving arch is an arch built over a lintel or architrave to take off the superincumbent weight. History The earliest example is found in the Great Pyramid, over the lintels of the entrance passage to the tomb: it consist ...

es with

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

hooded and

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...

-framed Tudor dressings to glazed window openings, dry Devon

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs and two original lateral chimney stacks. The front has a distinctive and fine granite transomed bay window arrangement over a decorated and hooded doorway.

History

The building is owned by Plymouth City Council and has been used as a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...

and a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

, but contrary to the misnomer has never been a priest's house, its name originating simply from its close proximity to St Andrew's Church, Plymouth. Prysten House is home to the Plymouth Tapestry designed by Eric Mor and displays a model of Plymouth in 1620. the museum is not open to the public, but the restaurant is open. retrieved 11 April 2015 Prysten House also features the "Door of Unity" commemorating the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

References

Grade I listed buildings in Devon Buildings and structures in Plymouth, Devon {{Devon-struct-stub

Construction

History

See also

References