The Nunnery

The Nunnery is a lodging and kitchen range originally associated with Hemington Hall, later converted into a separate house in 1976. The core structure dates to circa 1550, with alterations and an extension added in 1976. It is constructed of dressed stone with a 20th-century tiled roof and a rebuilt stone chimney at the right end.

The two-storey range originally contained two large rooms on each floor. The west front features five bays of two-light windows with chamfered stone surrounds and mullions; two of the upper mullions have been replaced. A ground floor central window was adapted to French doors in 1976. Other ground floor windows have casement cornices. A small garderobe projection is located to the right of centre, incorporating a catslide roof, a slit window to the first floor, and a blocked opening at base. The left gable end has a truncated external chimney, and a single-storey 20th-century extension built of re-used brick, serving as an entry and projecting wing. This wing mimics a cart shed with brick piers between glazed bays and garage entries. The right gable of the original block has a very small arched window relating to a former drying kiln.

The rear elevation has central single-light windows to each floor, two glazed doorways with four-centred stone heads, and a wide blocked opening to the left. A 20th-century window is positioned to the first floor within the blocked doorway of what was formerly an external staircase.

Internally, the ground floor retains massive fireplaces. The left-hand fireplace has a wide depressed stone arch and a chamfered relieving arch, partially restored in the 20th century. Evidence of a former oven opening is visible to the right. A 20th-century doorway cuts through the rear wall of the fireplace. The right-hand fireplace has a massive low timber lintel spanning the entire width of the building, with chamfering over the fireplace and a doorway to the drying kiln in the southwest corner. The kiln has a domed roof with a small blocked flue to the main chimney, a small window, and a low blocked opening to the main fireplace. The main fireplace flue is divided into two and further subdivided by 20th-century brick piers. The floor beams are largely original, exhibiting stopped chamfers. The upper storey features a fireplace at the left end, with a chamfered four-centred stone arch and broach-stopped jambs. The original roof structure comprises double purlins with tie-beam and collar trusses, and small curved wind-braces. Twentieth-century partition walls and fittings have, overall, not significantly altered the original features.