Bandons

Bandons is a manor house with origins in the 15th century, with a substantial hall range largely rebuilt in the 19th century. The eastern wing dates to the 15th century and is timber-framed, with roughcast rendering on the east and south sides, but painted brick casing on the north and west. The western range is of painted brick. The roofs are tiled, with old tiles on the east wing and an eastern kitchen extension, and a hipped red tile roof to the west range.

The house is L-shaped, originally facing south but rebuilt facing north in the 19th century. The unusually large, two-story, four-bay eastern crosswing, jettied to the south, contains two rooms on each floor, with a central straight staircase. The timberwork is of exceptional quality, with stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. The ground floor south room appears to have been the principal parlour, although the north room is only slightly less elaborate, and the two chambers on the first floor originally opened to the four-bay crown-post roof. The craftsmanship includes close studding, tension bracing, large, heavy, flat joists closely spaced. An external east-side chimney remains for the southern part of the crosswing; a corresponding side chimney for the north part may have been removed in the 19th century when the present east kitchen was added.

The hall range, accessed by four steps, retains an east gable internal chimney with a large open fireplace, likely of 17th century origin, and an irregular plan suggestive of alterations and extensions, rather than a complete rebuild. The north elevation is symmetrical, with a central door and two two-story brick canted bay windows, each topped by a moulded cornice. Recessed sash windows with two panes per sash are set within cambered gauged arches. The front door has five panels and a wide moulded surround. A projecting gabled eastern wing, brick-cased with a plinth and toothed verge courses, stands to the left, featuring sash windows. A large well is located a little north of this wing, and a gabled brick kitchen is set back on the left. The south front is irregular with a two-story lean-to extension of the west range partly overlapping the jettied end of the east wing, which is set back on the right.

The interior of the east wing has a brick floor, close-studded partition, a four-centred chamfered doorhead, and a hollow-chamfered cross beam with hollow-chamfered knee braces rising from colonettes, with continued extra moulding on the soffit of the beam in the parlour. Further features include chamfered posts, a cross beam, knee braces, and a chequered tile floor in the north ground floor room. The first floor contains curved braces, jowled chamfered posts, an edge-halved scarf joint with bridled butts in the wall plate, and a fine four-bay crown-post roof with long curved braces to the collar purlin, the rafters now being in the roof space. A horizontal mortice-and-tenon joint with two staggered pegs serves as a scarf joint in the collar purlin.

Bandons originated as the centre of Anstey Manor in the 15th century and is a manor house of outstanding interest due to its unusually large and elaborate timber-framed parlour crosswing.