Moat House

Moat House is a former farmhouse dating from the early to mid-16th century, with a service cross-wing added in the 17th century to the right, and extending to the rear. The building is timber-framed, mainly plastered, with some areas roughcast-rendered. The roof is covered in plain tiles. It is two storeys high and originally had an attic in the wing. The main range was originally jettied to the front. It has a variety of casement windows, mostly old and without glazing bars. The main range has two doorways dating from around 1800. The doorway to the left has panelled pilasters, a frieze, and a pedimented cornice; the entrance has a six-panel door, with the lower two panels flush and reeded, the central two fielded, and the top two sunk. The doorway to the right is similar, with fluted pilasters, a frieze, a pedimented cornice enriched with roundels, and a six-panel door. There are two internal stacks, one with a sawtooth shaft. The interior of the main range was altered during the 19th century, obscuring much of the timber structure. The hall ceiling has heavy chamfered cross beams, with plastered-over joists. An intact service partition with blocked four-centre arched doorways remains. Heavy studding and chamfered-mullioned windows are exposed in the rear wall of the parlour, the mid rail 0.5 metres below the ceiling level, displaying evidence of red ochre decoration. On the upper floor, there is an early 19th-century corridor with flat arches and mid-to-late 19th-century fireplaces. A stick baluster stair is located in the lower bay of the hall, and some 16th-century moulded doors are present. The cross-wing has five irregular bays, with plain studding and ceiling joists and a side purlin roof. The building is surrounded by a medieval moat.