Little Shelford Manor

Little Shelford Manor is a small country house built primarily in 1746 for William Finch, although part of the property dates back to the late 17th century. Late 19th-century alterations to the window openings were made, and the stonework was restored in the 20th century. The main house is constructed of grey brick with Ketton stone dressings, and has a concealed roof behind a brick parapet with stone panels. Four end stacks are present. The house is arranged around a main range with flanking service wings, connected to the main house by curved walls. The house itself has a basement, two principal storeys, and an attic storey, with a five-bay facade, including a slightly projecting central bay. The windows are recessed hung sashes, largely from the mid-to-late 19th century, and the central windows have shouldered surrounds. The garden elevation features a Ketton stone doorcase, and some of the hung sashes retain their original glazing bars.

A service wing on the left-hand side, dating from the late 17th century, is built of gault brick, with some red brick used in the rear wall in English bond. It has a hipped, plain tile roof with a moulded wood eaves cornice and two side stacks. The wing is two storeys high with an attic, and has three hipped dormers. The symmetrical front elevation features three cross-frame casements set in segmental niches. A central doorway is now blocked, with a window to its left. The service wing on the right-hand side, now a garage, was built in 1746 and stylistically matches the other service wing. It's constructed of gault brick with a hipped tiled roof, two storeys, and three hipped dormers, with segmental arches to three blind window openings.

Interiors retain some details from the 1746 construction, despite 19th-century alterations and a 20th-century fire. One rear room features a shouldered fireplace surround with an enriched pulvinated frieze and flanking Ionic pilasters, topped with a shouldered overmantel. Another front room has raised panelling and an enriched cornice with modillions and rosettes, along with shouldered fireplace and overmantel surrounds. The hall has diagonally set paving with black setts, and a round-headed arch with a scrolled key block and fluted pilasters leads to the stairbay. The principal staircase dates to the 19th century, but the back staircase is original, from 1746, with a closed string, slender urn-shaped balusters, and a moulded rail. The late 17th-century service wing includes an inserted staircase similar to the back staircase in the main house. The roof is constructed with staggered, butt purlin construction. A room at the first floor of the other service wing retains an early 17th-century door and a six-light casement window.

An earlier house on the site is associated with Sir Toby Palavicino and the family of Henry Wriothesley, Duke of Southampton, a patron of Shakespeare.