Franks Hall

Franks Hall is a Grade I listed house built in 1591 by Lancelot Bathurst, who died in 1594. The original mansion was located on the opposite side of the river but was abandoned due to damp conditions, leading to the construction of this new house. The building is square and has three storeys, made of red brick with a tall base of knapped flints and a tiled roof.

The entrance front faces east and features a central recessed area with two windows, topped by a parapet that has a small pediment and a finial. The wings on either side each contain two windows, framed with long and short stone dressings. The central windows consist of two lights arranged in two tiers on the first floor and three tiers on the ground floor, while the flanking windows have a similar arrangement of four lights each. The outermost windows are bay windows with two tiers of six lights on both the ground and first floors.

To the left of the centre is a stone doorway with Doric columns on tall bases, a triglyph frieze, and a curved pediment flanked by finials, leading into a recessed porch. The north or garden front has five windows arranged in two tiers of three lights, with one window of four lights, and similar dressings. Each end features a gable topped with a finial, while the centre has three projecting chimney breasts with octagonal shafts. The south front is similar but has only two chimney breasts positioned just within the outer gables and six windows, including a large bay window with two tiers of six lights on the left side of the central ground floor window, topped with a strap work parapet. The west front has four windows and a projecting central octagonal turret, although the 19th-century wooden cupola that once topped it has been removed.

Inside, the hall boasts very fine plastered ceilings, one of which is dated 1591, along with stone fireplaces, panelling, and a late 16th-century staircase.