Mapledurham House

Mapledurham House is a country house built around 1585, with alterations and extensions made in the 19th century. It features a red brick exterior with a grey brick diaper pattern and a plain tile roof, arranged in an H-shaped plan. The house has two storeys and an attic, with a nine-window range, including a seven-window centre flanked by single-window cross wings on either side. The central entrance has a double six-panel door beneath an ashlar rendered porch, which is supported by corner buttresses and topped with a battlemented design.

There are two-storey angled bay windows on both sides of the centre and in the cross wings. All openings have stone mullion and transom windows, and a shaped stone string course runs above the ground floor windows. The first-floor windows are adorned with hood moulds and a shaped stone string course above, while the eaves are battlemented. The cross wings feature a brick parapet on the roof, and the central cross gable has a single-light casement, as do the cross gables of the wings. The rear of the house has a similar design, with a projecting chapel built around 1789 to the left of centre, which includes a central door and two Perpendicular style windows.

Inside, the central hall was constructed around 1828 from part of the original hall, with panelling added around 1863. The staircase is an oak open well design with cantilever construction and a balustrade of turned balusters. The chapel is designed in Gothick style and has a cross vaulted ceiling. On the first floor, the saloon features a plaster ribbed ceiling from around 1612, decorated with roundels depicting Roman figures. The dining room, located on the ground floor to the right, is styled in the Adam manner and was decorated by Thomas Martin.

The house was initiated by Sir Michael Blount, who was the Lieutenant of the Tower of London, and completed by Sir Richard Blount in 1612. Michael Blount, who lived from 1743 to 1821, constructed the Roman Catholic chapel, while his son, Michael Henry Blount, who lived from 1789 to 1874, hired Thomas Martin to decorate the dining room and make other alterations in 1828. Additional changes were made in 1863.