Barham Court

Barham Court is a house, largely rebuilt in the 1930s after a fire, with significant remodelling around 1791-1792 by B.H. Latrobe, who undertook this work as his first commission. The cross-wing may also be of Latrobe's design. Sir Herbert Baker carried out the major reconstruction in 1932-33.

The house is constructed with channelled render to the cross-wing and plain render to the main range, and has a slate roof. The main range is double-depth and runs east-west, with a cross-wing projecting slightly to the north and south. The facades feature a rendered plinth, a plat band (moulded to the wing), rusticated quoins to the wing, a moulded rendered cornice, and a balustraded parapet. The roof of the main range is hipped to the east, incorporating a small bell cupola, while the wing roofs are hipped to the north and south. Eleven rendered stacks are present.

The north elevation has an irregular arrangement of 12 recessed sash windows. Four twelve-pane sashes are located in the east half of the main range, with two twelve-pane sashes above a portico on the west half. Three round-headed sash windows with moulded architraves, shouldered bases, and keystones flank the portico. The cross-wing has three twelve-pane sashes. Fifteen-pane sashes are used on the ground floor. A single-storey, stuccoed portico with an Ionic column portico of four pairs of columns fronts the west half of the main range. The central section of the portico is filled in to create a porch. Within the porch are panelled double doors with a semi-circular fanlight, set within an eared round-headed architrave, bearing achievements to the keystone. A conservatory is attached to the ground floor of the west wing, featuring a low plinth, moulded cornice, parapet, engaged Ionic columns, and a hipped glazed roof. The south elevation, overlooking the Medway valley, features twelve twelve-pane sashes and a two-storey, rendered and glazed porch with a pedimented gable. Two single-storey, pilastered bay windows with balustraded parapets are also present. A service wing runs north from the east end of the north elevation; stuccoed and of two low storeys, with a plain parapet, three first-floor sashes, and three round-headed ground-floor sashes. It connects to the stables.

The interior, only partially inspected, includes a central east-west ground-floor corridor with a rounded west end. Rooms to the north and south of the corridor have late 18th-century plaster friezes and ceilings, and enriched marble fireplaces. The main range contains concrete floors, under-floor heating, and three ground-floor rooms decorated in an 18th-century style with plaster cornices and ceilings. Eared round-headed door architraves are a feature alongside a cantilevered staircase with turned balusters, also in an 18th-century style. The house was frequently visited in the late 18th century by William Wilberforce.