The Grange

The Grange, formerly known as Paternoster Croft and later Grove House, is a house primarily dating from the mid-17th century, with alterations from the 18th century that conceal an even older core, potentially dating back to the 12th century. The house was mentioned in a schedule of Ghent Abbey in 1281 and was said to have been restored in 1268. Edmund Chapman, the chief joiner to Queen Elizabeth, leased the property from 1561 to 1568, after which it became the residence of the Lanier family of musicians. In 1665, Sir William Hooker, who was Sheriff and later Lord Mayor of London, purchased it and commissioned the construction of a gazebo.

The main block features a south-facing front with two storeys and an attic, comprising four windows. It has a moderately low-pitched tiled roof with a pediment-like gable end on the right, projecting eaves supported by purlin ends, and a deep eaves soffit resting on the ends of ceiling joists. A circular window is set within the pediment. The exterior is stuccoed with rusticated quoins, and the sash windows with glazing bars are set in near-flush moulded wood architraves. The right first-floor window under the gable is an oriel bow. The entrance door consists of eight fielded panels, topped with a cornice head and a three-pane rectangular fanlight, located in the second bay from the right. The doorcase features a moulded architrave, sunk panel pilasters, a pulvinated frieze, and a cornice hood supported by curved consoles.

The right return has one window under a gable end similar to the front, with windows in a canted bay extending through two floors. On the first floor, there are three sash windows with glazing bars, the center one being long and opening onto a wrought iron balcony. The ground floor bay is completely glazed. A mid to late 18th-century west wing projects in front of and runs behind the main block, featuring two recessed sash windows on the front, with the roof having a moderately high pitch and renewed in machine tiles.