Lenham Court

Lenham Court is a house dating from the mid-15th century, with significant alterations in the late 16th century, the early 18th century, and the early 20th century. It is timber framed, with rendered infilling and a plain tile roof. The original design was likely Wealden, possibly with a recessed front and rear. The main body of the house consists of two roughly equal bays with a storeyed end bay to the left and an early 18th-century cross-wing to the right spanning two bays. An early 20th-century single-storey single-bay rear wing extends from the right, and a contemporary addition to the left doubles the length of the frontage.

The original section of the building has close-studded timber framing. The left end bay is jettied on a moulded dragon post, with eaves higher than the hall wall plate and a hipped roof. The right end bay is also jettied, featuring an early 20th-century decorated jettied gable with a pendant. The roof is hipped to the right and continues with a 20th-century extension to the left. A large, late 16th-century brick stack is located on the front slope of the roof, off-centre to the right gable. The fenestration is irregular, with multiple early 20th-century windows featuring leaded lights: one 3-light casement to the left end bay, a 2-storey canted bay window to the left bay of the hall, a 2-light casement over the cross-passage, and a 5-light oriel window to the right bay. French doors, in the original door position, are located at the right end of the hall. The early 20th-century addition features applied close-studding, with a jettied and decorated left gable mirroring the right end. A loggia with a first-floor extension is located to the left of this addition, with six windows. A 2-storey timber-framed porch is set to the right end, against the left end of the original building, sheltering a 20th-century ribbed door. Above the door is a 15th-century 4-centred arched doorhead with carved spandrels, likely removed from the original French door position.

Inside, the hall features a heavily moulded brattished dais beam, along with a rare, moulded brattished dais spear, which is not in its original location. A moulded crown post now supports the ground-floor hall ceiling. The principal posts of the central truss are moulded and each has a finely carved engaged column with a moulded capital and base. The central truss tie-beam is cambered, with a hollow chamfer and large braces with solid spandrels, joined across the centre by a fillet. A back door to the cross-passage retains a 4-centred arched head and carved spandrels. First-floor ceiling beams are of early 17th century design: relatively elaborate chamfer-stops in the left-hand bay and ovolo-moulded beams in the right end bay. The roof of the right cross-wing has clasped purlins with diminishing principal rafters and small curved windbraces, along with other exposed timbers. The early 20th-century rear bay was likely constructed to accommodate panelling, which contains elaborately carved rectangular panels with motifs including heads. The house was reportedly owned by the Pitt family until the late 20th century.