Mill Hall

Mill Hall, probably dating from the mid-16th century, has undergone alterations and additions in the mid-19th century and early and mid-20th centuries. The house is timber-framed with painted brick and rendered wattle-and-daub infill, a sandstone rubble plinth, and a plain tiled roof, featuring five grouped, brick, star-shaped ridge stacks to the left of the centre. It has four framed bays aligned on a west/east axis, with a through-passage situated above the lower east end bay. The building is two storeys and an attic. The timber framing is irregular, largely consisting of five square panels from sill to wall-plate, with long straight braces in the lower corners. The attic at the east gable end is jettied on a moulded bressummer and curved brackets. Internally, the roof structure includes collar and tie-beam trusses with queen struts in the gable ends; the west gable end has three collars and a V-strut at the apex, while the east gable end features two collars and a V-strut in the apex.

The south front has scattered window openings, with windows featuring plank weatherings. The ground floor windows include a three-light window and two tall two-light casements, while the first floor has two two-light and two three-light casements. A mid-20th century gabled, timber-framed porch and a part-glazed door are positioned to the right of the centre. A 16th-century studded door, with wrought iron hinges and a coat of arms above, is located at the left end. Attic lights are present in the gable ends. The west gable end incorporates two three-light casements on the first floor with retained late 16th/early 17th century lattices of glass quarries. A panel in the gable apex displays the date "1503".

Inside, the roof has two pairs of trenched purlins; the lower trusses have arch-braced collars with V-struts at the apex, and the upper tie-beam truss incorporates two collars and a V-strut. The hall fireplace is surmounted by plasterwork displaying the Royal coat of arms encircled by the garter, flanked by Tudor roses, and the initials "E R". The attic room at the upper end has an early 17th-century plaster ceiling, recently repaired and decorated with fleur-de-lys, fruit, crowns, and a mermaid. The walls are oak panelled, with plaster lion's heads above the panelling. The fireplace has a carved overmantel, an elaborate mid-Victorian cast iron fireplace, and a collection of 15th-century tiles on the hearth. A 16th-century door with a Tudor-arched doorhead provides access to the room. Two rooms on the first floor have plaster ceilings decorated with a vine leaf frieze. A mid-17th-century open-well staircase features spiral balusters, ball finials on newel posts, and a moulded handrail. Main beams are stop-chamfered, and several 16th-century doors are retained. Mid-19th century and early and mid-20th century two-storey extensions are situated at the rear. The house was originally built for John Porter, an important clergyman, and is believed to have been visited by Queen Elizabeth I in 1578. The house retains numerous good interior features dating from the Elizabethan period to the mid-17th century.