Arreton Manor

Arreton Manor

A large manor house built between 1595 and 1612 by Sir Humphrey Barnet, with a central porch added in 1634 and a left-hand addition from 1812. The house has been restored and extended to the rear in the 20th century.

The building is constructed of Isle of Wight stone rubble with ashlar quoins. The tiled roof is punctuated by three clustered diagonally placed chimneystacks. The original Elizabethan H-shaped plan now reads as E-shaped with the addition of the early 17th-century porch. The main block rises to two storeys and attics, while the wings reach three storeys. The façade displays five windows with mullioned frames featuring hollow chamfered moulding and drip moulding above. A moulded stone band divides the floors, and a plinth runs across the base. The end gables and porch are finished with stone moulded coping and kneelers. The end ground floor windows appear to be 1812 replacements.

The two-storey central porch, dated 1639, contains two centred arched doorways on the outside and two centred doors on the inside with blank spandrels. The porch features chamfered beams with lambs tongue stops and is approached by a flight of six stone steps flanked by 19th-century stone seated mastiffs. A 17th-century studded door is present.

To the west is an 1812 single-bay addition of two storeys, built in coursed stone rubble with brick dressings, a tiled roof with one brick chimneystack, and one mullioned window. To the north stands an 18th-century gabled wing with stone rubble walls below and red brick in Flemish bond in the attic, topped with a tiled roof. The rear elevation features a large external stone chimneystack, and the area between the gabled projections has been infilled with a 20th-century stone flat-roofed extension.

Interior features are extensive. The hall contains Jacobean plank and muntin panelling with reeded pilasters on the north side (originally from the west bedroom, later sold and returned). To the east stands a very elaborate late Medieval screen of oak and elm, probably introduced in the 20th century.

The dining parlour was formerly the court house for the manorial court. It features panelling of circa 1630, including a finely carved overmantel displaying the coat of arms of Sir Thomas Barnet, the manor owner at that time, flanked by strapwork panels carved with a lady fishing and Jupiter with a thunderbolt—probably North German or Flemish separate carvings. Ionic pilasters to the sides bear lion's masks, floral drops and claws. A stone four-centred arched fireplace is present. Plank and muntin panelling with Ionic pilasters embellished with grapevine motifs surmounted by grotesques runs around the room, topped with a cornice of tendrils. The brackets carry carvings of Justice and Mercy. An iron fireback of circa 1605 bears the coat of arms of James I. The chamfered bressumer features a heart motif, similar to carvings at Yarmouth Castle and in other manor houses and farmhouses of the period.

The staircase has been much renewed, though the top retains a turned newel post and turned balusters. An internal framed wall displays square framing and a panel of wattle and daub.

The long room contains a 17th-century stone fireplace and an eight-panelled door. The west bedroom includes a closet door with a carved panel and butterfly hinges.

The roof is of through purlin construction. The ground floor of the east wing contains a two-centred arched doorway and two rooms with early 17th-century square framed partitions. Chamfered spine beams with heart stops support the structure, and four-centred arched stone fireplaces are present. A two-centred arched doorcase and plank door are also evident.

The kitchen in the west wing features a chamfered spine beam with heart stops, a stone fireplace with bread oven, and some 17th-century plank and muntin panelling.

The manor was built on the site of a monastic grange belonging to Quar Abbey.