Somerden

House. Dating to the late 18th or early 19th century, with possible earlier origins, Somerden is an attractive building contributing to a significant group of listed buildings in Old Groombridge, all associated with Groombridge Place. The ground floor is constructed of Flemish bond red brick on a brick plinth of English bond, incorporating bands of burnt headers. The first floor is timber-framed and hung with peg-tile. Brick stacks and chimneyshafts rise from the roof, which is covered in peg-tile.

The house faces south and has a double-depth plan, with front and back rooms on either side of a central entrance hall and main staircase. The front rooms feature gable-end stacks, with a stack on the left (west) end. There are two projecting rear stacks. A late 19th-century shop was added as a lean-to on the left (west) end.

The main house is two storeys high, with attics in the roof space and cellars below. The front facade is an asymmetrical design with three windows. Outer bays contain 16-pane sashes, while the central first floor has a 12-pane sash above a central doorway. The doorway has a six-panel door and an overlight with glazing bars, sheltered by a flat hood on shaped brackets. Access is via a flight of six stone steps, with iron railings that scroll around the base of the bottom curtail step. A moulded timber eaves cornice runs along the top of the building. The roof is gable-ended and includes two flat-roofed dormers. At the left end of the front, a late 19th-century four-panel door leads into the shop, which has a lean-to roof. The end wall of the shop features a wide two-bay window with fixed panes and glazing bars. Behind the shop, a horned six-pane sash window is visible. The rear of the house incorporates a couple of old, possibly 18th-century, timber two-light casement windows with rectangular panes of leaded glass. A central rear doorway has a plain plank door.

The interior was not inspected at the time of the survey, but it is expected to contain early joinery and other original details.