The Bell House

The Bell House is a school house, now a private residence, built around 1714 for Ralf Freman the 4th, the squire, using funds left by Mary Cater, who died in 1704, to educate underprivileged children in the parish. The building is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with thick joints and features a fine red brick front with moulded brick corbels at the ends of the boxed eaves. It has a steep old red tile roof, although the rear slope has been slated.

This large, two-storey house with attics has a symmetrical five-window façade facing south, with internal gable chimneys and a gabled one-storey brick central porch. There are small, one-storey brick and tile additions at each end. The windows are nearly flush, with small pane, two-light casements; the upper ones have segmental arches, while the lower ones have brick courses that continue over the heads of the frames. At the rear, there are two-light casements with three windows on each floor, all without arches. A small wooden bell-cote sits at the middle of the ridge, and there are two hipped dormers on the front roof slope. The entrance in the porch is round-arched and features a gable parapet.