Mountains And Garden Wall Attached To Right

This is a house dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, with 18th and early 20th-century extensions. The early 20th-century additions were designed by Gambier Parry for The Hon. Lady Du Cane, who incorporated items purchased from nearby Braxted Park House into the building at that time. The house has timber framing, with some ranges faced with red brick and a later red brick built range. The roof is red plain tiled, with three red brick chimney stacks visible from the front (south). The building comprises two gabled ranges; the left-hand range is original, while the right-hand range is the 20th-century addition. To the rear is a hipped 18th-century range. The house is two storeys high, with a cellar. The gables have two-storey hipped-roofed bays, the right-hand one hipped to a gable apex, with bargeboards to the left gable. The window arrangement is 1:1, consisting of small-paned vertically sliding sash windows, with a small window to the first floor of the left gable. A small-paned door is centrally located within a moulded surround. There is a lean-to bay on the left return, and two tall vertically sliding sash windows with round heads on the 18th-century range. Attached to the right is a red brick wall featuring stone Du Cane eagles to the gate pillars, terminating in a small red brick and tiled summer house.

Interior features of the original build include lozenge stop-chamfered bridging joists, heavy wall studs with halved arch braces, jowled storey posts and arched wind braces to roof rafters. Other features include a halved and bridled top plate scarf and an inglenook fireplace with a curved fireplace to the first floor. A second, similar bedroom fireplace is present, with the ground floor opening now blocked. An iron fireback dates from 1721 and is reputedly from Hurstmonceaux Castle. The fine library is plastered and contains pine mouldings from elsewhere, featuring ionic pilasters, a carved cornice, and moulded and carved six-panel doors; the central recessed panel between the carved bookshelves contains the original library of Lady Du Cane. A green marble fire surround has a carved and moulded sunken centre arch, carved brackets for a shelf, and a three-light mirror above, with a moulded and carved dado. The hall and corridor contain 17th and 18th-century square panelling, seemingly from Braxted Park. A fine staircase features two turned balusters to each tread, a moulded open string, and a modillion cornice above. Original shutters are present on the round-headed window. The master bedroom has moulded surrounds and wainscots. A Victorian moulded cast iron fireplace is in the bathroom. A Victorian moulded cast iron fireplace, with a patent water boiler and tap, is in the kitchen, with C18 doors throughout. A servants’ bell system is also present. The garden contains one of the earliest Japanese gardens in Britain, created by Lady Du Cane, located alongside a stream.