The Manor House And No 55

The Manor House and No 55

House, now subdivided, dating principally to 1576 when it was built for Sir Robert Dormer (as recorded by a plaque on the west front inscribed 'AD1576/EE/NA.RD'). The building has been extensively altered and extended over its history. A service wing was added to the south and modifications made in 1684, with a timber-framed south-west projecting wing (now No. 55) of 17th century or earlier date. An antiquarian restoration possibly took place in 1787 (evidenced by graffiti dated 'WF 1787' at the top of the north-west stair). Further restoration and a south-east wing were added around 1880 for Lord Brownlow. The west front was skinned in plaster in 1958.

The building is constructed of Tottenhoe stone ashlar on the west front, with the east side faced in chequered stone and flint. The south wings and casing to the south-west wing are of red brick, with timber framing exposed on the south-west elevation of No. 55. The roofs are of old red tile.

The principal west front is three storeys and symmetrical in composition, with a two-storey half-octagonal bay at its centre flanked by three-storey square projecting towers. The towers are topped with crow-stepped gables of half gable form to north and south, added for symmetry and concealing lean-to roofs. The fronts of the towers contain one window to each floor: the third floor windows are 2-light with labels; the second floor windows are 3-light below moulded strings; and the ground floor windows are 3-light below hoodmoulds on the right-hand side, though the left-hand side has a small 2-light window set high. The central bay has similar wide mullioned windows, with a parapet and small 2-light casement above. A carved date panel with strapwork in an egg-and-dart gadrooned sunk frame adorns the bay. The windows throughout feature ovolo-moulded mullions and transoms with iron casements and old lattice leaded glazing.

Crow-stepped gables set between corner finials top the towers and partially obscure a fine north chimney. Small gables contain sunken panels with labels, the left-hand gable including clock hands.

The entrance is now positioned in the side of the right-hand tower, though a drawing by Buckler dated 1841 (held in Hertfordshire Record Office) shows the original central doorway was in the ground floor of the bay.

The north wall features a massive ashlar chimney topped by four round shafts treated as columns with bulbous bases and square abaci with stone knots beneath their four corners, supporting a deep continuous stone entablature (locally known as Jarman's Coffin). Stepped buttresses appear on the north wall. The east wall contains mullioned and transomed 3-light windows, probably dating to 1684.

The hall occupies the entire ground floor of the north block and is spanned by two chamfered crossbeams, with no indication of an original partition. A splendid carved stone chimneypiece dominates the north wall, featuring a 4-centred opening with carved spandrels, a strapwork rectangular surround, and paired Corinthian columns sharing panelled dies and carrying a moulded entablature with an inlaid running scroll in the frieze. The overmantle contains carved figures set within projecting end piers beneath an enriched cornice. Royal arms and the initials 'ER' are painted central between scenes depicting Elizabethan figures, with a female figure on the right and male figure on the left, said to represent the arrest of Princess Elizabeth at Ashridge after Wyatt's rebellion in 1553-54. A large painted timber panel depicting this arrest, said to have been found as a door in the cellar in the 1890s, hangs framed on the wall. Arched openings serving as a screen at the south end of the room may have replaced the normal buttery and pantry arrangement around 1684. The wainscotting is thought to have come from Old Ashridge.

The solar on the first floor has a simpler chimneypiece. Remains of a former clasped purlin roof over the first floor survive above the south wall.

The south-east timber-framed block, of one-and-a-half storeys, was altered and encased in the 19th century, with a north wall chimney featuring two diagonal shafts. A parallel brick extension with small 2-light windows and moulded parapet adjoins it. The south-east includes large central chimneys and further 19th-century extension.

According to the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments and later scholarship, the towers may be original to 1576, but the crow-stepped gables and possibly the top storey of the towers were added around 1787.