Bower Farmhouse

Bower Farmhouse is a large timber-framed farmhouse dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, located in Forest Row. The original core of the house is shaped like two ‘L’s joined together, and the building is now divided into two separate dwellings. The house has two storeys and an attic.

The south front of the south wing displays exposed timber framing on the ground floor with plaster infilling, while the upper portion is tile-hung. The first floor overhangs on a moulded bressummer supported by brackets, and features a gable with an attic window. The south front of the east wing is built of brick and tiled. A massive brick chimney breast is located in the angle between the wings. The east front of the north wing has exposed timber framing with painted brick infilling and four windows. The north front of the south wing is close-studded above the ground floor, with a gable overhanging on a moulded bressummer and brackets. This gable has moulded bargeboards and a pendant and contains an attic window; two windows are situated below. A blocked original window is visible on the first floor. The ground floor has been rebuilt in painted brick, with remnants of the original bressummer still visible. The doorway is covered by a flat hood supported by console brackets, and incorporates an 18th-century door with six fielded panels.

The north wing is partly close-studded on the first floor, but the ground floor has been partially rebuilt in brick (painted) and is partly tile-hung. A gable with an attic window and moulded bargeboards is located at the north end. On the west front of the north wing is a curved brace shaped like half an ogee, with two windows above. A modern room has been built out on the ground floor, extending beyond the north wall with a pentice roof. A modern wing, constructed largely of old materials, has been added to the north-east of the north front, resulting in a half-H shape to the north front. The roof of the south wing is covered in Horsham slabs, while the rest of the house is tiled.

Inside, a stone fireplace bears a date of 1595. A staircase features a circular newel post extending the full height of the house, along with ceiling beams.