Howbury Hall

Howbury Hall is a small country house with origins in the 18th century, which was substantially rebuilt in 1849 after a fire by James Horsford for the Polhill family. The house is mainly rendered, although some brick is visible at the rear, and it features a slate roof. The symmetrical facade is two storeys high, with two-storey wings projecting from the rear. The layout consists of five bays, arranged as 1:2:1:2:1, with the end bays projecting and featuring two-storey canted bay windows. The central bay also projects slightly. The building has rusticated quoins on the side and centre bays, a string course, and a modillion cornice topped by a balustraded parapet adorned with urns. All windows are sashes with glazing bars set in moulded architraves; the three central bays have brackets under the sills, and the full-height windows in the ground floor of the canted bays are particularly notable. There are cast iron balconies with scroll brackets on the first floor of the canted bays. The central entrance features a six-panel double door with a rectangular fanlight, situated in a porch that has panelled pilasters, an architrave, a frieze, a dentilled and bracketed cornice, urns, and a stepped gable end displaying armorial bearings. Inside, there is fine 18th-century panelling in the east wing staircase.