Great Ropers

Great Ropers is a house dating from the late 18th century (with a waterhead dated 1772) and expanded in the 19th century. It is constructed of yellow brick with hipped roofs covered in machine-made flat tiles and features a parapet to the front.

The original late 18th-century form was approximately L-shaped with a principal west front and a north-facing garden front. Subsequent 19th-century additions have created an irregular deep block plan with a ground floor extension at the front on the south end.

The west elevation of the original house rises three storeys above a basement. The facade is composed of three principal bays that break forward from bowed ends at the north and south, with a central bay projecting further still. Between the first and second storeys runs a modillion cornice, with a modillioned pediment above the centre bay containing a bulls-eye window in the tympanum. The centre bay features a wooden Tuscan porch with a modillioned open pediment. The door has four upper fielded panels and two lower flush panels, with a cobweb fanlight in the door-case. Above on the first floor is a semicircular-headed recess with keystone and string course, containing a triple sash window with glazing bars in 1x4, 3x4, and 1x4 panes, along with a blind box with lunate head. Other windows on the facade are sashes with glazing bars displaying 3x4 panes. Ground and first floor windows have blind boxes, while second floor windows are recessed with stuccoed reveals. The facade shows considerable traces of having originally been reddened with white pencilled tuck pointing. The south bowed end has its original windows blocked, with voussoirs re-cut to appear as continuous horizontal coursing when a later 19th-century ground floor yellow brick extension was added. To the south is a stone seat within a round-headed niche and a bowed bay window with castellated parapet, containing three identical sash windows with glazing bars showing 3x5 panes and partly remaining blind boxes. Above this sits a simple pitched roof with modillioned eaves.

The north elevation comprises two adjacent sections: the west portion (late 18th century) and the east portion (19th century). The 18th-century elevation includes the bowed end of the front elevation with three radial windows, continuing eastward as a three-window range with a chimney stack and the dated waterhead at the junction. This section rises three storeys above a basement with a parapet. Windows are predominantly sashes with 3x4 panes and blind boxes on ground and first floors, though the first floor bow windows have been replaced with 19th-century plain sashes. A cast-iron balcony with trellis patterning serves these windows. The second floor windows of the three-bay range have been replaced by two-light 19th-century casements with glazing bars, each light displaying 2x3 panes. Basement windows are sashes with glazing bars in 3x2 panes. The eastern section is a 19th-century construction in yellow brick, rising three storeys with hipped roofs and deep modillioned eaves cornices. This comprises two units: the western unit has a two-window range with a central stack and flush front, fitted with segment-headed 19th-century sashes (one ground, one first, and two second floor) with glazing bars showing 2x4 panes; the eastern unit sits well back with similar windows.

The south elevation's western portion displays the bowed end of the original house with blocked windows and a deep 19th-century ground floor addition with stone dressings. This features pedimented French windows with surrounds in "artisan mannerist" style, with volutes in profile clasping the architrave and single mullion and transom, with upper lights having glazing bars in 2x2 panes each; below are French windows with glazing bars, each leaf showing 2x4 panes. The eastern portion comprises irregular, deeply articulated 19th-century units of three and four storeys with irregular fenestration, featuring segment-headed sashes with glazing bars in predominantly 2x4 panes, some 2x3 and some 3x2 panes. An external stack sits towards the east end.

The rear east elevation projects a two-window range to the west and a larger range to the north with two-window and single blank ranges. Windows are segment-headed sashes with glazing bars. Ground floor has two windows with 3x3 panes and a segment-headed doorway in an internal angle, with the door featuring upper glazing of 3x2 panes and two lower flush beaded panels. First floor windows comprise three with 3x4 panes and one with 2x4 panes. The second floor has two windows with 2x4 panes. A hipped roof covers this section with two end stacks and one central stack.

The interior features an elongated entrance hall parallel with the front, terminating in an apse at the south end and defined by paired Adam-style Ionic columns in antis at each end. Both ends have dentilled pedimented doorways serving bow-ended rooms. The hall displays a cornice and central fireplace with egg and dart decoration. The dining room features bolection-moulded panelling with egg and dart and dentilled cornice, and an "eared" fireplace. The staircase is an open string well stair with shaped handrail and turned balusters.

Great Ropers and the adjoining game larder form a listed group.