Stambourne Hall

Stambourne Hall is a manorial complex, originally a "Unit System" pair of houses dating back to the 15th century, with alterations made in the 17th and 19th centuries. The building is timber framed and plastered, with a roof of handmade red clay tiles. It is arranged in an L-plan, comprising a hall house with two crosswings aligned north-west to south-east. A service wing is situated to the south-east, and a five-bay house extends to the south-west, contributing to the overall L-shape. A large chimney stack, constructed around 1600, is located at the junction of these sections. An axial stack is present in the south-west wing, and an external stack is at the end of the south-east wing, concealed by a false outer wall added in the 19th century. A single-storey extension was added to the south-east side during the 19th century. The south-west elevation has two sections of the south-east range projecting slightly forward with gabled roofs. The main entrance is a recessed porch with a door of six fielded panels. There are double-hung sash windows with 4-16-4 lights, and one with 12 lights, on the ground floor. The first floor features three double-hung sash windows with 12 lights and a pair with 8 lights each. Decorative carved and fretted bargeboards are present, particularly over the single-storey extension. The south-west wing has a splayed bay with five double-hung sash windows on each floor. Some original crown glass remains. The overall appearance is heavily influenced by a 19th-century Gothic style. Internally, some timber framing is exposed. On the south-east side of the north-west crosswing, which originally formed the "high end" of the medieval hall, curved tension bracing is trenched into the heavy studs, with the first floor supported on pegged clamps. The outer walls were largely rebuilt in the 17th century with straight bracing. The roof is continuous, aligned north-west to south-east, and features a clasped purlin construction dating to the 17th century. The roof of the south-west wing was also rebuilt in the 17th century, employing a butt purlin construction. A fireplace with a four-centred brick arch is found on the south-east side of the main stack, at first floor level. Late 16th-century carved bargeboards have been re-used in the roof of the south-west wing. The complex was originally two separate houses, arranged at right angles and of manorial status, representing different dates and building types for two related households. They were later combined and altered in the 17th century to provide two full storeys throughout, and further modified externally in the 19th century. The site is moated.