Salwarpe Court

A manor house, largely rebuilt in around 1580, with alterations made in the mid-19th century. The house is timber-framed with painted brick and rendered infill, along with brick replacement walling and additions, and has plain tiled roofs, with a hipped section at the east end. The original medieval layout includes a main range running east to west, featuring a two-bay hall, a through-passage bay, and two service bays at the east end. There’s also a two-bay solar cross-wing at the west end, potentially reduced from three bays. A single-bay extension on the south side of the hall, flush with the projecting gable end of the cross-wing, and a gabled porch wing add to the complexity. A prominent external brick chimney with tiled offsets and star-shaped shafts is situated at the east gable end, while other chimneys on the main ridge and rear have similar, but 19th-century, detailing.

The house has two storeys and exhibits close-set vertical studding on both floors. The gable ends of the cross-wing and hall wing have collar-and-tie-beam trusses with queen struts. The first floors of the cross-wing, hall wing, and porch wing are jettied to the south elevation, with curved brackets supporting the floors, a moulded bressummer, and projecting upper panels on a coved jetty. The south front features 19th-century windows: the hall and upper service bay have 4- and 5-light wood mullioned windows with transoms, one to each bay on both floors. The porch has a wide plank and battened door, flanked by timber posts, with a 4-light mullion and transom window above, and enriched bargeboards. The lower service bay has cross-casements on each floor, and the cross-wing gable end has a 4-light ground floor casement, a 6-light first floor casement, and a door to the lower right side.

Internally, the roof and main structure, including first floors and ceilings at wall-plate level, are of a single build. The roof structure comprises collar-and-tie-beam trusses with raking struts, and a single row of trenched purlins. Fireplaces and fittings were all altered in the 19th century. The house once served as the seat of the Talbot family. Early structural features, such as the plan, jetty construction, and purlin/principal jointing system, are believed to have been inherited from an earlier structure on the same site.