The Hovells

The Hovells is a farmhouse that has been converted into a house. It dates back to the early 16th century, with alterations and additions made in the 17th century. The building features a timber-framed structure that is exposed and has roughcast render, along with a painted brick plinth and plain tiled roofs. There are two ridge stacks on the left side and a ridge stack with grouped shafts on the cross wing, which has a rear gable end stack. The house is two storeys high and has an L-plan layout. The main entrance is located in the cross wing and features a boarded 20th-century door. On the ground floor, there are three casement windows with original side mullioned lights, and on the first floor, there are two casement windows with leaded lights, along with one restored oriel window supported by curved brackets, featuring roll-moulded and hollow chamfered mullions. The cross wing consists of four timber-framed bays to the north of the main range, which has three timber-framed bays. There is a late 17th-century single-storey kitchen extension to the west.

Inside, the building showcases exposed timber framing and substantial floor frames, with the hall possibly being originally single-storey before a later floor was inserted. The hall chimney is timber-framed with a 17th-century brick insertion that occupies half a bay, and there is a cross passage to the south with one service door featuring a four-centred door head. The roof has windbraced side purlins, and the stack in the cross wing was rebuilt in the 17th century, still containing bacon hooks. A first-floor room in the cross wing features late 16th-century or early 17th-century wall paintings, displaying a lozenge design with rosettes at each angle, enclosing a free foliage pattern. The Hovells farmhouse was formerly the manor house of Hovells Manor.