Bourn Hall

This is a small country house, dating to 1602, originally built for John and Frances Hager. It likely incorporates earlier building elements. The house was significantly altered between 1817 and 1819, commissioned by John and Elizabeth Sackville-West, fifth Earl De La Warr, and involved designs and features taken from the demolished Haslingfield Hall. An internal courtyard was reportedly enclosed in the 19th century, possibly by Norman Shaw.

The north-west wing is constructed of red brick, casing a timber frame, with limestone dressings. The roofs are covered in plain tiles. The building is two storeys and attics, originally laid out in a U-plan. The symmetrical north-east facade has three gables and five bays. There are four two-storey bay windows: two original 17th-century square bays and two later canted bays with embattled parapets. A porch with a moulded stone four-centred arch, bearing the arms of De La Warr with the initials ‘D’ and ‘S’, was added around 1818 to the bay on the north side. The original oak door is set within a moulded wooden frame. A moulded string course runs at first-floor level, and a plinth is present at ground level. The attic windows are three-light casements, while the first and ground floors each have five-light windows with transoms, all dating to the 19th century. Seven chimney stacks are visible, including two internal stacks, each with three 19th-century terracotta shafts on original octagonal bases.

The interior plan has been altered, but retains details from around 1817 in a Tudor Revival style. This incorporates 16th and 17th-century panelling and chimney pieces brought from Haslingfield Hall. Original features include a 17th-century staircase with enriched turned balusters, square newels with carved finials, some original 17th-century plasterwork, and panelled and boarded doors. The house is situated within the moated site of the 11th-century Bourn Castle. The grounds were redesigned by Humphry Repton between 1817 and 1819.