Bishops House

Bishops House is a house, originally comprising two ranges, dating back to the 15th or early 16th century, with alterations in the late 16th or early 17th century and the 18th century. It is timber-framed, with exposed framing and rendered infilling to the first floor, and red brick in stretcher bond to the ground floor. The roof is covered with plain tiles.

The right section appears to be from the 15th or early 16th century, consisting of two roughly equal-length, storeyed, timber-framed bays built at right angles to the road, likely representing the right cross-wing of a larger house. The left section, probably with a 17th or earlier core, is of similar proportions and now adjoins the long right side of the right section, also at right angles to the road. The house has two storeys and an attic.

The right section has jettied gable ends to the front and rear; the front jetty was underbuilt, while the rear is within a later extension. The first floor of the right section is close-studded with jowled posts. A plain crown-post with foot braces is visible in the gable. The left section (or its front) appears to have been built against the right section, featuring applied close studding and one jowled post to the left. Both gables are half-hipped. A pitched roof, parallel to the road, bridges the valley between the two sections. A 17th-century brick ridge stack with a moulded cornice is located towards the left end of the bridging roof, serving both ranges. A 4-light mullioned window is found in the left gable. A small dormer is present on the right side of the right section.

The fenestration is irregular, including five leaded casements – one 2-light window to the left section, a deep central 2-light window within a larger blocked opening to the right section (likely originally an oriel), flanked by late 16th or early 17th century 2-light ovolo-moulded mullion frieze windows. A single-light casement is situated in a later lean-to to the right. A half-glazed door is in the centre of the left gable, and a boarded door is located on the right side of the right lean-to.

A projecting timber-framed gabled stair turret from the 17th century is towards the rear of the long right side, now partially within a lean-to. The interior of the left section was not inspected. The right section reveals exposed framing and evidence of original internal divisions, including a moulded octagonal crown-post on a cambered tie-beam with solid-spandrel braces. A late 16th or early 17th century inserted attic floor and spiral staircase with a newel post are also present. The property was formerly known as Bishop’s Oast. The south (rear) elevation was once stuccoed with a parapet and a pilastered doorway.