Rooksnest

Rooksnest is a country house dating from the 16th century, with extensive extensions added in the 1920s by Biddulph Pinchard. The building has two storeys and an attic, constructed from flint with Bath stone dressings and a stone tile roof. It is arranged around a courtyard, with the west front featuring flanking gables and a narrow central gabled porch made of brick with stone quoins. Above the porch is a six-light stone mullioned and transomed window, with a single light window below it. The ledged door is set within a four-centred arched stone surround, which has cut spandrels and a small carved coat of arms above it. On either side of the porch are two windows, each with two lights and mullions and transoms. Each gable has a bay containing a three-light mullioned casement in the attic, and below are 8 x 10 light mullioned and transomed windows. The house features flanking stone chimneys with brick diagonal shafts and offset heads. The original 16th-century section is located to the right of the porch, while the remaining parts are modern.

Inside, the older section of the house includes four-centred stone arched fireplaces, imported Italian 17th-century inlaid panelling with Ionic, fluted pilasters in the dining room, and two carved Spanish doors from the 17th century leading to the living and sitting rooms. The staircase in the older part of the house has twisted balusters, while a large central staircase with a stone balustrade is located behind the modern porch.