Yaxley Manor House

Yaxley Manor House

Farmhouse, originally built around 1520, probably for the Fanner family, with a service wing added around 1600 and altered in the mid-17th century for the Felgate family. Further alterations were made around 1910. The building is of timber frame construction, with Fletton brick casing and colourwashing on the ground floor and roughcast with sham timber framing on the first floor. The roofs are steeply pitched and covered with plain tiles.

The house forms a large six-bay, three-cell range with an added service cross wing extending forward to the right, creating an L-shaped plan. Both storeys and attics are present throughout. The main front elevation is continuously jettied.

On the ground floor, the entrance occupies its original position within a 20th-century brick projection that replaces the original porch. The original 4-centred arched panelled door is retained, with carved spandrels bearing the initials I.F. The door surround is a restored roll-moulded design with a Gothic 7-light fanlight, whilst the outer 4-centred arch has initialled spandrels set between restored roll-moulded and shafted pilasters. Windows are recessed casements: a 3-light casement serves the hall and a 4-light casement the parlour. In front of the stack stands a 20th-century lean-to projection with a 2-light window. The jettied first floor features a heavily roll-moulded bressumer with 3-light glazing bar casements.

The eaves are boxed. A 17th-century axial ridge stack with five conjoined hexagonal shafts rises centrally. The left gable end is brick cased with an attic light and bargeboards. The service wing to the right has a slightly lower ridge, with an entrance in the second bay from the front and first floor casements. An internal ridge stack projects to the front gable end, now with 20th-century tile hanging and bargeboards. The right return is entirely brick cased with an entrance in the second bay and recessed 2-light and 3-light segmental-headed casements. At the rear, the service wing's gable end extends slightly further than the main range and is entirely brick cased, with segmental-headed casements to the rear.

Internally, the entrance porch was originally panelled and opened directly into the hall. The hall is distinguished by elaborately and continuously roll-moulded crossed binding beams and storey posts, with triple roll moulding in cavetto and stop-chamfered joists. Early 17th-century panelling includes a fluted pilaster with strapwork capital. A 4-centred arched doorway leads to stairs behind the stack and to the parlour, which features an axial quadruple roll-moulded binding beam with roll-moulded mid-rails. A doorway from the hall to the service end has a 4-centred arched head with carved rose and pomegranate spandrels and a roll-moulded surround.

The first floor displays arched braces springing from jowled posts to cambered tie beams. Wallplates and tie beams are chamfered and lightly roll-moulded, with axial binding beams above. A crown post roof spans the hall and service bays, featuring chamfered square crown posts, two-way longitudinal arched braces (largely now removed), and struts running from tie beams to collars. The parlour was reroofed in the 17th century with double purlins—lower butt purlins with upper purlins clasped by collars. The service wing incorporates close studding and stop-chamfered binding beams, with moulded first-floor posts. Cut arched braces rise from tie beams, and some panelling survives. The roof structure is a double butt purlin design with collars to the principal rafters and a ridge piece.

The building is listed Grade II* principally for the quality and detail of its interior carpentry and joinery.