High House

High House is a timber-framed manor house of the mid-16th century, probably built by a member of the Gosnold family who owned the land. The building is constructed with timber framing, colourwashed render and brick, with a plain tiled roof that may originally have been thatched. It is two storeys high with an attic, built to an L-shaped plan.

The road front features brick walling to the ground floor where the jetty has been underbuilt. A doorway at right of centre has a 4-centred head with fern and flower motifs to the spandrels, with moulded muntins and lintel. To the right is a three-light casement, and at left is a 5-light range with a further 5-light window to the far left. The first floor has 2 five-light and 2 four-light casements and one 3-light window below the stack, all of 20th-century date. The attic features two 2-light hipped dormers. A ridge stack at left of centre has 6 clustered octagonal flues with cogged heads.

The left-hand gable end displays close studding with arched braces and brick nogged infill. At ground floor level is a central 6-light mullioned window of 20th-century date, with 4-light casements at either side. The first floor is jettied with a moulded bressumer supported by curved brackets, and the walling has arched braces. Mortice holes for brackets and sawn-off wall plates reveal that the gable was also formerly jettied.

The right-hand side shows the gable end of the main range at left, with a projecting central 20th-century staircase turret with a hipped roof and an outshut to its right. A two-light window to ground floor level stands at left of the turret, with a 2-light attic window at right. Extending to the right is a later lower wing with two 2-light, a 3-light and a 5-light casements at ground floor level, with a doorway at right of centre. The first floor has a panel of close studding with an arched brace and three 5-light casements to the right and a 3-light window at left, all with diamond-section mullions.

The rear of the later wing's gable end at left has two ground floor 2-light windows divided by a king mullion, and at first floor level an 8-light window. The close studded gable contains a 2-light casement. The right flank of this wing has a 4-light, a 3-light and two 2-light casements (20th-century replacements with diamond-section mullions), and at first floor level are three 5-light windows and a 3-light and 4-light window, all with diamond-section mullions, some replaced.

To the right extends the axial range, which is close studded with brick nogged infill. This contains a staircase tower with a bowed end to accommodate the spiral stair. At mezzanine level is a 4-light window. The right flank has a blocked doorway with 4-centred head, and a 2-light window at first floor level. The left flank has one 4-light ground floor window. To the right of the tower are two further blocked doorways with 4-centred heads at ground and first floor level, indicating that a further wing probably projected here. To the left of the turret is a ground floor hall window of 6 lights with moulded mullions, and at left of this is a 9-light window to the upper walling. The first floor has a canted oriel at right with a heavily moulded sill, 4 central lights and single lights to the angles. To the left are a 2-light and a 5-light window, also with moulded mullions.

Interior: The dining room has a massive chamfered ceiling beam and chamfered joists with die-out end stops. The hall has a crossed arrangement of richly-moulded heavy beams. The cross-axial beam is supported on jowled wall posts with brattished enrichments from which spring arched braces connecting to the beam. The joists have double quirked beads. A cambered chimney bressumer carries a series of roll moulds and ribbon and floral motifs to the top. The sitting room has 2 moulded cross beams with a dragon beam extending through to one corner, and similar double-quirked joists. The staircase turret has a centre circular newel post to the winder staircase with its original treads. The newel diminishes by broaches to an octagonal body with a moulded, stepped cap. One first floor room has a cambered ceiling with a crossed arrangement of beams and 3 slender axial beams with quirked-bead joists and wall posts with arched braces. Four-centred doorheads occur to most first floor rooms, mostly of 20th-century date. One further first floor room has a 4-centred arch to the fireplace with moulded surround and stepped end stops. Red plaster overlays the brick and is grooved in imitation of brickwork with fine lines of white plaster bedded into it, creating an impression of immaculately laid gauged brick. All rooms in the axial range have close studded walling. The first floor of the later wing forms one large room of 3 bays with massive jowled wall posts carrying arched braces which connect to the cambered tie beams, a central chamfered beam and plain joists.

The house shares several features in common with Otley Hall, also built by the Gosnold family.