Tower House

Tower House is a house located on Mendlesham Church Road, built in two main phases. The section to the right of the stack dates from the early 17th century and may have earlier origins, while the section to the left is a later 17th-century addition. The house is timber framed and rendered, with a plain tiled roof, and has two storeys and an attic. It features five windows, which are casements with 2 to 6 lights and mid-20th century square-leaded glass.

The central lobby entrance has an architrave with fluted colonnettes and a cornice, and the double door consists of six flush panels with reeded surrounds. To the far right, there is another doorway with a moulded architrave and a dripboard, leading to a half-glazed door. The house also has two flat-roofed dormers with square-leaded windows. Inside, the internal stack has a plain 17th-century axial shaft, while a later stack is located at the left gable end.

The interior has been modernised, but in the earlier phase, the main upper room features exposed studs, plaster-encased floorbeams, and square joists. The ceiling of the room below has a chamfered beam with lamb's tongue stops, with the joists concealed. The roof has butt purlins, though not fully exposed. Most of the timbers in the later phase are concealed, with some at the left end showing fire damage. There is a rebuilt newel stair by the stack, and a ground floor fireplace with a fluted carved surround and an adjacent segmental-headed cupboard, both restored in the mid-20th century. The house contains much 18th-century joinery and some 19th-century cast iron grates. A small part of the earlier phase is now incorporated into No.1, Front Street.