The Gatehouse, Nettlestead Place

The Gatehouse at Nettlestead Place is a Grade I listed building from the early 14th century. The ground floor is constructed of roughly coursed ragstone, while the first floor features timber framing with rendered infilling, topped by a plain tile roof. The structure stands two storeys tall, with a notably high ground floor.

On the west side, which faces the road, the building jetties out, supported by brackets flanking the carriage entrance. The first floor appears to be divided into three timber-framed bays by principal posts, each bay containing a central stud and a pair of tension braces, except for the west side of the north bay, which has only one brace. The studding is broadly spaced, and there are arch braces at the gable ends. The roof is steeply pitched and hipped, featuring gablets.

A two-light window with tracery of mouchettes is located under the eaves at the centre of the west side, with one light on each side of the central stud. This window suggests a former subdivision into two almost ogee-headed lights. The tall carriage entrance occupies the southern half of the ground floor, with the west side featuring moulded ashlar jambs that have broach stops, a chamfered plinth, and a corbelled head supporting a wooden bressumer. Hinges for double doors are positioned just behind the jambs. The north jamb at the east end is made of unchamfered dressed stone, while the south jamb is formed by a buttress with a single offset. A similar buttress is found at the north-east end of the gatehouse.

Under the carriage entrance, there is a low and very narrow chamfered stone doorway with a Caernarvon-arched head that leads to a ground-floor room. The interior has not been inspected, but it is noted that the ground-floor room has been subdivided into two storeys, featuring a two-light window on the north side. The carriage entrance includes a plain-chamfered axial beam of heavy scantling and broad close-set joists, which extend to the north end of the gatehouse, providing a floor for a single first-floor room. The roof is said to contain two octagonal crown posts, each with a square, scroll-moulded capital. A mid-to-late 15th-century barn with eight timber-framed bays was attached to the south end of the gatehouse until it was destroyed by fire in 1962.