Boothby Manor House

Boothby Manor House

Boothby Pagnell, off Main Street

This is a rare survival of a Norman manor house, now a scheduled ancient monument. The building dates to the late 12th century with alterations made in the 16th and 17th centuries, and minor changes in the 19th century. It is constructed of coursed limestone rubble with ashlar quoins and dressings, under a Collyweston slate roof.

The house follows a T-plan, with the rear wing likely added in the 17th century. What survives is the camera block, the only remaining part of what was originally a complex of medieval buildings. The structure rises two storeys with a garret, organised with a three-bay front elevation.

The ground floor displays characteristic Norman features. The central doorway is chamfered with a corbelled lintel and relieving arch above. To its left is a square opening, also with a relieving arch. To the right stands a second blocked doorway, similarly arched. The first floor is accessed via external stairs. The first floor hall doorway is semi-circular headed with chamfered surround, chamfered and reeded imposts, and a hood mould with tightly curled stops. To the right is a 16th-century four-light window with pointed heads and a concave moulded rectangular surround and hood. Adjacent to this is a 12th-century two-light window with chamfered surround, round-headed lights, and a slender facetted mullion with plain capitals; a chamfered hood mould sits above the plain tympanum.

On the left gable, a 19th-century planked door with segmental head occupies the position of an earlier opening, still marked by its relieving arch. The first floor gable also contains two 12th-century two-light windows, the second repositioned to light an inserted staircase. Both gable ends feature a chamfered string course with tall rectangular lights in chamfered surrounds above.

The rear elevation includes the projecting 17th-century wing, now fitted with 19th-century planked door and casements. The main range behind shows two blocked 12th-century openings, a buttress, and a fine ashlar chimney breast terminating in a gabled square base to a slender 12th-century circular stack with roll-moulded top. A 19th-century two-light gabled dormer with rendered cheeks pierces the roof.

The undercroft beneath the first floor hall and solar consists of two vaulted chambers. One contains two bays with quadripartite chamfered vaults springing from splayed corbels; the other has a barrel vault. These chambers are reached from the first floor and represent the building's most impressive surviving features.

The first floor contains a magnificent 12th-century rounded-back fireplace with a massive ashlar hood having a joggled lintel, supported on a pair of chamfered corbels and crowned with a rolled and filleted string. In the wall to the right is a triangular-headed cupboard and a round-headed corbelled doorway. The chamber beyond preserves the 12th-century window with a stone seat, and a 19th-century doorway provides access to the rear wing.

The original open hall has been subdivided by 16th-century timber frame partitions with heavy oak studs, supporting 16th-century ceilings with chamfered girders and ogee stops. A 19th-century staircase also divides the space. The roof structure is a 19th-century clasped purlin roof.

The house was probably built for the de Boothby family and later occupied by the Paynelle family. A new house was constructed nearby around 1630, and the manor house has remained uninhabited since the early 20th century. It is now a scheduled ancient monument.