The Old Manor

The Old Manor is a house in Dorsington, originally a group of five cottages dating to the 16th and 17th centuries, with significant alterations and additions carried out in the early to mid-20th century by LL Dussault. The house has a timber-frame with plaster infill, with the left end constructed of coursed squared blue lias limestone. It is topped by a steeply pitched, half-hipped thatched roof, featuring two brick axial stacks and a stack to the front ridge.

The house is arranged with a double-depth plan and comprises a single storey with an attic. The front elevation has a four-window range, with a cross wing to the left end and a 20th-century addition to the right end. The stone left end projects under the timber-framed gable, and a half-hipped wing is situated to the right of the centre. The central entrance is sheltered by a gabled, thatched open porch with stone jambs and a lintel over a 20th-century half-glazed door. To the left end is a basement entrance with a mullioned window lintel. Most windows have leaded glazing, mostly to 20th-century casements.

A distinctive feature is the canted bay window to the left of the entrance, with wooden ovolo mullions and a hipped roof covered in stone slates and scrolled brackets. The left end also has a recessed, chamfered mullioned window. To the right of the entrance are two 3-light casements, some containing fragments of stained glass, along with a 2-light casement and a single-light casement. The wing and end feature a canted bay window. The first floor has two gabled dormers with 3-light casements, alongside a 3-light casement to the left end and a 2-plus-2-light casement to the right end.

The rear of the property incorporates a lean-to outshut to the left of a 20th-century loggia, characterized by timber posts, and 2- and 3-light first-floor casements. A double-gabled wing has a stair window with a 4-light casement, and the end wing features a 3-light window mirroring the front, and a 4-light first-floor casement. The left return has a mullioned window and a gabled timber garden seat to the left of a recessed half-hipped gable with a 1:4:1-light canted bay window under a hipped roof, also containing an entrance to the return, and a first-floor canted oriel. The right return displays an M-gable.

The interior retains chamfered beams. A room to the right includes a large fireplace with a bressumer, a bread oven, and a recess with a door. Flat joists are likely re-used rails. A hall features a 20th-century imperial staircase with splat balusters. The first floor showcases a partly exposed tie beam and collar trusses, along with wall post heads to a 5-bay roof, where the ends of principals cross.