Ford Place

Ford Place is a country house, derelict following a significant fire in 1987. The core of the house dates back to approximately 1590 and was originally a half "H" shaped brick structure. It was altered and extended around 1655 in the Artisan Mannerist style and again around 1747 with a Georgian west front. The current layout is L-shaped.

The west front, dating from approximately 1747, is constructed of brown brick with red brick headers. At the time of survey, only the southernmost three bays of the original nine were standing, with tall brick stacks attached to the north and south walls. The west front features rubbed brick heads with cornices, recessed aprons, and a panelled attic parapet with stone capping. The rear elevation has brickwork from around 1655, with two storeys and attics, a heavily moulded brick cornice to the first floor parapet, and "Dutch" gables. The east front includes two gables and two first-floor brick Tuscan pilasters, believed to be the earliest examples of this feature in Essex. A staircase window from 1747 is centrally positioned between the pilasters. The north elevation also has curved gables and a 19th-century addition.

Interior features include a southwest drawing room with a round-headed 17th-century niche, possibly for a lantern, and a 17th-century spine beam with floor joists. The south dining room also features a 17th-century spine beam and floor joists. The north buttery and kitchen retain original late 16th-century chimney features, including an open brick arch in the buttery and a line of open arches to the kitchen behind a later range, showing remnants of a 19th-century spit. Two bread ovens are located to the north. The buttery retains chamfered cross beams with lambs tongue stops. 19th-century iron firegrates are also present. Significant sections of late 16th-century brickwork remain visible throughout the house.

The mid-17th-century house also has an 18th-century parapet front, timber framing, and brown brick with red dressings. It has a red plain tile hipped roof. The south elevation features a three-window range with double-hung vertical sliding sashes, and a 20th-century red brick bay window. The rear range reveals mid-17th-century enriched brickwork, two storeys, attics and a heavy moulded brick cornice over the first floor with a parapet and Dutch gables bearing ornamental brick panels with the date "1655," a coat of arms, and initials "R.S." The interior includes 18th-century panelled rooms and a staircase, with mid-17th-century plaster ceilings, including one heavily trabeated with figures of the four seasons in oval panels, and two coats of arms. Painted 17th-century panelling is also present.