The Rookery

The Rookery is a house dating from the 16th century, with later additions and alterations. It is two storeys and attics in height, with five bays. The house has a timber frame, with some main timbers exposed on the ground storey, and is rendered. It features a jettied front, with the upper storey faced in ornamental Edwardian tile-hanging. The roof is covered in plain tiles. A prominent internal chimney-stack with a large, plain rebuilt shaft sits atop an older rectangular base; the base has a blank recessed panel on the front and back. The ends of the joists that support the jetty are exposed, along with a bressummer featuring embattled ornament, similar ornament to the middle rail supporting the jetty, and to the sills of the original windows. There are indications of an original oriel window on the left side. The jetty is supported by brackets with shafts and carved capitals underneath. The windows are varied in style: one late 17th-century three-light casement with transome and square leaded-panes; three long, small-paned sash windows with external slatted shutters; and various Edwardian three-light mullion-and-transome casements on the upper storey. A large gabled dormer is centrally placed on the roof, flanked by two 17th-century gablets above projecting tie-beams carved with Jacobean ornament.

The interior is divided into three cells. The central two-bay hall has fine, heavy timbering, including main cross-beams and joists with multiple roll-mouldings, leaf stops, and post-heads to the central truss carved with formalised leaf-fronds. There is a large open fireplace, with a lintel bearing mutilated remains of folded-leaf ornament and a shield. The service area at the left end, formerly divided into two rooms, has been converted into a small parlour, with an end chimney-stack, and Jacobean and early 18th-century panelling. During alterations, the remains of original painted decoration, mainly in red, were found in a room to the right side of the internal stack. The room above has Jacobean panelling throughout. The roof structure includes clasped purlins, wind braces, and additional intermediate collars. The bay divisions correspond to those of the frame. A 19th-century extension runs along the rear of the house and incorporates a Jacobean-style stair. A late 17th-century service wing is also present.