Birtsmorton Court

Birtsmorton Court is a moated manor house with origins in the 14th century, largely rebuilt in the late 16th century, and subsequently altered in the 18th and 19th centuries, with 20th-century additions. It is constructed of stone, brick, and timber framing, with tile roofs, and is arranged around a courtyard.

The east, or entrance, facade is predominantly from the early 20th century, incorporating earlier brick and timber elements set upon a stone base. It is two storeys high with an attic and is framed in square panels. The central three bays have a gabled dormer above the middle bay, with a cross-wing extending to either side, featuring diagonal bracing to the gable ends. A Tudor-arched doorway is located to the right of the second bay and is accessed via a 20th-century bridge over the moat. A chimney is positioned to the left, between the central first and second bays, and to the left of the right-hand wing. To the right is the gable of a 17th-century timber-framed range built upon an older stone base. This range is also framed in square panels and is jettied. Its north wall displays two projecting stone chimney stacks with brick caps.

Adjoining the timber-framed range to the west is a 14th-century stone gateway with a segmental arch moulded in two orders, featuring added brick battlements and a 19th-century bridge. This gateway provides access to the courtyard. Inside the courtyard, the south side is occupied by the hall, which retains some exposed timber framing. Above a pointed timber doorway is a window illuminating the screens gallery. A 17th-century timber window with five lights and two transoms is situated to the right of the doorway. To the left of the doorway is a three-bay, two-storey range in stone, built on the site of the service wing, and featuring 2-light mullioned windows. The south wall of the hall, facing the moat, has two gabled, two-storey timber-framed bay windows on either side of a stone stack with brick shafts. Two bays of the end wall of an 18th-century brick building, partly incorporating the 16th-century timber-framed solar wing, enclose the west side of the courtyard.

Internally, a floor inserted into the hall in the 20th century has been removed. The screens gallery is supported on round timber posts. The front facade incorporates three large plaster panels displaying late 16th-century shields of arms. The hall’s plaster ceiling has moulded ribs, roses, and fleur de lis ornament. Large wall posts are set in front of the high end wall, which is close-studded. The south room of the west, or solar, wing is lined with late 16th-century oak panelling and has a decorated plaster ceiling divided by Corinthian pilasters, with a frieze displaying painted shields of arms relating to neighbouring gentry. A carved overmantel features three round-headed panels with painted armorial shields. A fragment of wall painting, of a similar date, is found on the first floor.