Layer Marney Tower

Layer Marney Tower is the gatehouse and remaining wings of a grand early 16th-century house that was never completed. Work began under the first Lord Marney, who died in 1523, and was continued by his son, who died in 1524. The building has undergone some 20th-century restoration and minor additions. The gatehouse itself is a remarkable and very fine example of early Renaissance architecture and ornamentation; it is believed that the King's Italian architect, Guialamo de Travizi, designed the building. The gatehouse stands 80 feet high and is constructed in red brick with terracotta dressings and diapering in flared brick headers. The building has three main storeys, with semi-octagonal turrets of eight storeys flanking the south side, and square turrets on the north side with subsidiary turrets of seven storeys. Considerable fine original detail remains in the windows, parapets, and bands of cusped panelling. A small west wing, of two storeys with attics, has tiled roofs and windows and detail similar to that of the gatehouse, though more restored. A small, modern north wing also exists. The original part of the west wing features a moulded band between the storeys and a number of original windows and forms the north side of the outer courtyard. A barn, largely rebuilt but incorporating 13th-century materials, stands on the east side. The long gallery, forming the south side, is constructed in red brick with diapering in flared brick headers and includes original doorways and windows. The south side is divided into eight bays by buttresses, and the west end has a crow-stepped gable. Internally, the main block retains numerous original doorways with moulded or chamfered jambs and four-centred arches. The eastern room in the west wing features a fireplace constructed from original moulded oak jambs and a four-centred head. There is extensive 16th-century panelling. A re-set original terracotta fireplace in the modern wing has Corinthian pilasters, acanthus consoles, and an enriched entablature. Numerous other original fireplaces are also present. Original plaster ceilings with moulded ribs remain, one displaying a geometrical pattern and the other a pattern of intersecting lines.