Manson House

Manson House is a house, now a retirement home, dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, with significant alterations in the early 18th century and later rear wings. The house is timber-framed and largely brick-faced. The front elevation is constructed of two shades of red brick, primarily in Flemish bond but with narrow sections of English bond between the windows, and features a black glazed pantiled roof arranged in two parallel ranges. Raised brick bands delineate the storeys, while chamfered rusticated brick quoins define the main part of the building, and a moulded brick dentil eaves cornice tops the façade. The right-hand end bay is slightly recessed.

The exterior presents three storeys and a cellar. It has a six-window front with 12-pane sashes set within broad molded, cased frames. A six-panel door, set within deep reveals, is sheltered by a panelled doorcase featuring a moulded architrave and a dentilled cornice hood supported by enriched console brackets. A 1980s extension to the north side mirrors the original style and incorporates a two-window range.

At the rear, two-storey wings extend to the north and south, with a parapeted wall between them concealing a central gabled wing. The south wing continues the brickwork style of the front’s end bay, exhibiting a moulded and dentilled brick cornice, and terminates in a large two-storey canted bay with three long 12-pane sash windows in flush cased frames to each storey. The north wing concludes with a rendered semicircular bay featuring a delicate wood dentil cornice above the ground storey windows. Two internal chimney-stacks have panelled shafts.

The cellar beneath part of the rear wing is lined with flint and stone. Within are two round columns and three roll-moulded arched openings, seemingly in Norman style, possibly originally for a doorway. One blocked archway in the front wall possesses a moulding, which may be from the 14th century, and all appear to be re-used Abbey stone.

The entrance hall features a bolection-moulded dado and a late 17th/early 18th century dog-leg staircase with a landing balustrade composed of vase-on-reel balusters, closed strings, square newels, and a wide moulded handrail. To the right of the hall, a ground floor room retains a main beam with a complex late 16th century roll-moulding and one moulded trimmer, alongside mainly early 18th century features including internal shutters with raised fielded panels, wooden box cornices, and a bolection-moulded dado with applied plaster decoration. To the left of the hall is a room with complete bolection-moulded panelling and a fireplace surround with Tuscan overmantel, panelled pilasters, and two recessed panels for paintings. Fitted original bookshelves with matching panelling and mouldings run along the north wall. The interior of the south wing was remodelled in the early 19th century, displaying shutters with applied panels, a heavy moulded plaster cornice, and a marble fireplace. The 17th century north wing’s ground storey exposes plain cross-beams, with a second storey representing a later addition.