Bruern Abbey

Bruern Abbey is a country house dating to circa 1720, possibly designed by William Townesend for John Cope on the site of a former Cistercian abbey. A fire in 1780 destroyed the rear of the house and much of the interior, leading to the addition of two three-storey wings and service ranges around a courtyard. In the 19th century, part of this courtyard was infilled with the construction of a staircase hall. The north front of the main block was rebuilt in 1972-3 to replicate the earlier 18th-century south front.

The main block is constructed of limestone ashlar, with regularly coursed limestone rubble used for the service ranges and 20th-century rebuilding. It has a low-pitched hipped slate roof with two ridge stacks and integral end stacks, partially hidden by a balustraded parapet adorned with ball finials at the corners. The house is two storeys high with cellars, and features a 2:3:2 bay facade, with the central section forming a pedimented break flanked by banded pilaster strips and an oculus within the pediment. The windows are 15-paned sash windows in moulded surrounds with keystones and aprons; the two outer first-floor windows are distinguished by aprons both above and below. A late 18th-century doorcase with fluted pilasters, a triglyph frieze to a moulded entablature, and a 19th-century half-glazed double door with a semi-circular fanlight mark the entrance. Segmental-headed cellar windows have projecting keystones. The returns on either side are in a similar style, with the north bay being a reconstruction from 1972-3.

The rear facade is five bays wide, with the centre three bays forming a pedimented break mirroring that on the south front. Late 18th- or early 19th-century service ranges encompass three sides of the courtyard, linked to the main block by later 20th-century ranges built on the site of earlier connecting ranges, and matching the style of the service ranges. These are single-storey structures with attics lit by gabled eaves dormers, and have hipped stone slate roofs with ashlar ridge stacks. They feature 19th-century segmental-headed wooden cross casements and boarded doors. A north range contains a four-centred vehicle entrance arch.

The interior has been altered considerably in the 19th century and during the 1972-3 rebuilding, but retains some plaster cornices and stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops to principal rooms. A reused medieval stone corbel is found in the cellar. A Cistercian monastery was established at Bruern in 1147 and dissolved in 1536, leaving no above-ground traces; however an associated structure is noted at Red Brick Cottage. The house was formerly the home of Sir John Cope, who was defeated at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. The 20th-century terrace and steps facing the front of the house are not included in the listing.