Rushmere Hall

Rushmere Hall is a farmhouse dating to the late 16th century, with additions from the 18th and 19th centuries. The main block is constructed of red brick with a mid-20th century concrete tile roof. It has two storeys and attics, originally comprising three bays, with a left-hand bay added in the 18th century in matching brick style. The quoins are set forward, and a string course runs at first-floor level. Sash windows with glazing bars are set beneath flat or slightly cambered brick arches. The earlier section's windows are within larger original openings, each with a moulded brick pediment. The front door features a six-panel door, pilasters, and a cornice, topped by an original moulded brick pediment. To the right of the doorway is evidence of a blocked window. Crowstepped gable ends are topped with terracotta pinnacles. The older gable on the right has a single window opening on each floor, with string courses between; the pediments here retain some original stucco render. The attic window is full-size and appears partly original.

The original 16th-century range was heated by a single stack against the rear wall, featuring two fine octagonal shafts with moulded brick bases and star caps. A late 18th-century two-storey brick wing, partly colourwashed, adjoins the rear of the later section of the main range. Inside, a fine original newel staircase, approximately 1.5 metres wide, is contained within a square timber-framed and plastered partition with moulded components, extending to the attic level. The 16th-century range originally consisted of only a single chamber on each of the ground and first floors. Both rooms have cross-beamed ceilings, displaying double convex mouldings and ornate stop-chamfers, along with similarly moulded cornices on two sides. The ground floor room has a shallow-arched brick fireplace. There are two good, heavy, moulded doorframes on the ground floor, one with its original door; the entrances to the staircase and cellar are also moulded. The range's unusual form suggests it was built onto an existing structure and may have been conceived as the initial phase of a larger building.