The Grange

House, originally a farmhouse, dating to the late 14th century, with alterations in the late 15th, 16th, and 18th centuries. The building is timber-framed and rendered with a tarred brick plinth, and has plain tiled roofs. It features red brick stacks: one to the west cross-wing and another to the east end of the main range, each with four septagonal or octagonal shafts with moulded chamfered bases and lacking original caps. The house has two storeys and a modified half-H plan.

The main 14th-century range was originally three bays, forming two open halls, which were converted to a trading hall around 1500 with the insertion of floors and a jetty constructed in the west gable. Later, there were 16th-century cross-wings added; one to the east with an upper hall, and another to the west, consisting of three bays and including a chimney bay framed from reused 13th or 14th-century timbers. A double-gabled 18th-century service wing was added to the north.

The south elevation features a coved plastered eaves cornice and 19th-century bargeboards with apex finials. A raised and fielded panelled door, dating to the 18th century, is positioned in the 16th-century cross passage, and is sheltered by a canopy supported on shaped brackets. There are five ground-floor casement windows, including two large early 20th-century windows and five first-floor casement windows.

The interior reveals the exposed timber frame and floor frames, clearly showing the different building periods. A complete 14th-century roof remains with smoke-blackened timbers, including plain crown posts in closed trusses, chamfered posts with wide braces to the tie beams, and braces to the collar purlin. There are 16th-century plastered moulded brick hearths and a cooking hearth in the south-west room, along with four chimney cupboards with original doors and hinges. Early 17th-century panelling can be seen in the first-floor south-west room, complete with a strapwork frieze. A late 18th-century open string staircase is also present.

Historically, the house was part of Fountains Farm and was converted to a farmhouse by the Wimpole Estate in the early 18th century before being sold in 1913. It is believed that the building may have been owned by the Lilley family in the 15th century, and passed through the possession of Sir Thomas Cartwright (1567-97) and Henry Halfheide, keeper of the King’s Game, in the early 17th century.