The Lordship

The Lordship is a manor house dating from the early to mid-15th century, likely built around 1428-1461 for John Fray, who held the manor. It was altered in the early 17th century, possibly between 1600 and 1608 by Edward Pulter, and a chimney was constructed in 1699, with later modernizations when it was used as a farmhouse. The structure is timber-framed with a low red brick sill and roughcast exterior, featuring steep, old red tile roofs. The west gable of the hall has been refaced in brick.

The house is irregular in shape, comprising a former open hall and an east crosswing facing north. A two-storey 17th-century gabled porch is located in the angle between the wings. There's a tall two-storey 17th-century extension to the east, aligned with the hall, and a lower, slightly later, two-storey gabled northeast wing projecting to the front. Tall red brick 17th-century chimneys are situated on the rear wall of the hall and the east side of the original crosswing; the latter featuring two tall diagonal shafts. The windows are flush casement windows with mullions and leaded glazing, which have been renewed. The east wing and porch are jettied to the front, and the gables have dripboards across the eaves.

The interior retains the complete arrangement of an unusually wide-span hall, consisting of two bays and a cross-passage, with a spherical truss and crown-post roof. There’s a triple doorway in the screens passage, with the higher central doorway likely serving as a staircase to a great chamber in the north of the crosswing and a lesser chamber to the south. A hollow chamfered tie beam once supported a crown-post roof over the wing. The west bay of the hall was probably floored over at a later date. The crosswing was remodeled circa 1600-1608, including the addition of a panelled parlour on the ground floor front, a new chimney serving both floors, and wall paintings on the upper floor. These paintings are of elaborate classical scrollwork with grotesque profile masks in black line and grey, white, and yellow, with triangular motifs decorating the timbers between vertical panels. Further service rooms were added to the east end. The hall was subsequently floored over, and a large external southern chimney was built in the late 18th century.

Other notable features include a pilastered 17th-century fire surround with a carved arcaded overmantle in the ground floor parlour of the crosswing, and fine octagonal crown posts over the hall, with moulded caps, bases, four-way bracing, and embattled moulding to the crown-post of the open truss. The Lordship represents a fine mid-15th century manor house, preserving its original structure and including early 17th-century wall paintings.