Cliefden House

Cliefden House is an early 18th-century house located on Eltham High Street. It stands three storeys high and features five windows, although its front has been altered. The house has a moderately pitched, hipped, double-span roof that has been renewed with machine tiles. Symmetrical chimney stacks, now roughcast, are located in the gully, and the front has a parapet. The walls are thickly covered in roughcast but still show traces of bands at the first and second floors. The original sash windows, which have glazing bars, have been replaced and are set in flush moulded frames. The ground floor has modern shops, and the central door has been replaced with a six-panel door featuring a cornice head and a modern patterned fanlight, all set within round arches and a moulded architrave. This door is framed by fluted pilasters, panelled impost blocks, and a dentilled rounded cornice.

The rear elevation is made of original brick and includes bands at the first and second floors, with segmental brick arches over the sash windows that also have glazing bars in flush, moulded frames. There is a reproduction Georgian doorcase with a modern half-glazed door. Inside, the house features a barrel-vaulted hall that is groin-vaulted at the door and staircase entrances. The early 17th-century staircase is very wide with shallow treads and consists of two long, straight flights between floors. The stairway is walled on both sides, with wood-lined lower parts and a handrail that is set free from the wall for better grip. Square posts at intervals are carved with strapwork and topped with inverted, heart-shaped finials. The upper flight has a round arch with pronounced impost blocks and a central pendant that matches the staircase finials but is hollow. The interior also contains many old doors and doorframes.