Smallbridge Hall

Smallbridge Hall is one wing of a large Elizabethan red brick mansion, situated in Bures St Mary. The site of the original manor house dates back before 1362 and was once owned by Joan, widow of Sir Robert de Bures, later passing to Sir Richard Waldegrave. Richard II granted a licence to crenellate the manor house in 1383, and in 1555 it was demolished by Sir William Waldegrave, who constructed the great mansion. Queen Elizabeth I visited the house on two occasions, in 1561 for two days and again in 1579. The building has two storeys and attics, with a south front featuring a five-window range of 2- and 3-light casement windows with lattice leaded lights. A central doorway is defined by a brick architrave and cornice, and the front is topped by a parapet and cornice that rises to four gabled dormers. The roof is tiled, with three chimney stacks, two of which have octagonal shafts. Gabled wings extend to the north and also feature octagonal shafted chimney stacks. Internally, there are four-panelled rooms. One ground floor room contains painted glass depicting the arms of Sir William Waldegrave impaling the arms of his first wife, Elizabeth Mildmay, along with the date 1572. A noteworthy 16th-century fireplace surround is also present. The building was extensively restored or rebuilt in 1893-94 and again in 1920.