The Nunnery

The Nunnery is a house that dates back to the 15th century, with 17th century flooring in the open hall and alterations from the 18th and 20th centuries. It features a timber frame with casing made of coursed limestone rubble, ashlar quoins, and some brick dressings, with rendering on the first floor. The roof is covered with pantiles and has two brick ridge stacks. The building has a three-unit plan and is two stories high with a garret, presenting an irregular six-bay front. This front includes a plinth, an off-center 20th century door, a glazing bar sliding sash window to the right, and a combination of a three-light window, a single light, and two double 20th century casement windows to the left. On the first floor, above the door, there is a small glazing bar sliding sash, a larger single window to the right, and two similar sashes to the left. The front wall incorporates some re-used moulded stones, including 13th century dogtooth moulding, and shows evidence of considerable patching. At the rear, a bay post is visible at first floor level.

Inside, there are three inglenook fireplaces, one featuring a moulded bressummer. The principal girders in the hall and parlour are deeply moulded with attenuated triangular stops, and the door frame between these rooms has similar stops and moulding. The original kitchen contains an 18th century panelled cupboard with a semi-circular head and key block. On the first floor, several bay posts are visible in the side walls, showing mortices and peg holes for vanished braces. The staircase features 17th century splat balusters with a serpentine form. The oak roof is constructed with double butt purlins, and while the medieval roof originally had nine bays, three bays over the kitchen chamber were replaced in the 18th century. The middle bays over the hall show heavy smoke blackening, indicating the former existence of an open hall. The house is located near the site of the Gilbertine monastery of Sixhills.