The Manor House

The Manor House is a manor house with a complex history, dating back to the late medieval period. A royal manor, it was granted in 1547 to John Knighton, who built the northern part of the eastern range. A kitchen block, referred to as Bayford Place by 1613, was added before 1583 to the south end of the eastern range. An early 17th-century west wing was added, and it was enlarged and brick-cased between 1655 and 1662 for John Mayo. The house later became a farmhouse after Sir William Baker purchased the manor in 1758, at which point Bayfordbury was built. Alterations and extensions occurred around 1912 for Mrs. Barclay, including a new entrance on the west side.

The building is a large, irregular, T-shaped structure set within its own grounds, originally facing east but now with the main entrance on the west. It is constructed of timber frame, with red brick from various periods, and features red tile hanging. The steep roofs are covered in old red tiles. The west section is 1½ storeys high, with 2-storey elements, featuring tile-hung gables, small-pane casement windows, transomed ground floor windows, and an arcaded open timber porch.

The east front is divided into three parts. The northern part is a low single storey with a north gable chimney, one window, and a door near the south end of the front. The central section is 1½ storeys high, with an internal north gable chimney serving a large open fireplace in the former hall. It has three windows and gabled dormers rising through the eaves, leaded casements, bargeboards, and red tile hanging above the ground floor windows. A canted bay window and a half-glazed door with a flat hood are also present. The southern part features a massive projecting front-wall chimney, a 2-storey canted bay window to the right, and a gabled dormer on the roof slope. A window is present on each floor to the left. The south end has a tile-hung gable triangle with bands of serrated and plain tiles. Moulded bargeboards, casement windows, and a canted bay window with French doors are also present. The west side of this southern end displays old narrow red brickwork in English bond.

The interior features exposed timber framing to the south end, and a fine oak staircase dating from around 1660, with a closed string, turned balusters, a heavy moulded rail, rusticated square newels, and openwork pierced finials and pendants, serving all three floors. A 19th-century staircase with stick balusters and a wreathed handrail is also present. Panelling in a room on the first floor is painted with strapwork decoration. A wall in a cupboard near the rear door contains a pump mechanism with a large flywheel. A drawing from 1848 by Buckler (held within the Hertfordshire Record Office) shows a large building immediately to the west, which has since been demolished.