Wayneflete'S Tower

Wayneflete's Tower is a former gatehouse to Esher Place, built between 1475 and 1480, likely by John Cowper for Bishop Waynefleet of Winchester. It was altered by William Kent for Henry Pelham in 1729. The structure features red and blue brick in a diaper pattern and is square in shape, standing three storeys tall with four-storey polygonal angle turrets. There are stone string courses between each storey, a dentilled band at the second floor, and an arcaded corbel band at the turrets. The tower has stone dressings for the battlements and window surrounds, with two quatrefoil leaded casements on the top stage of the angle turrets, designed by Kent. The lower floors have three ogee arched windows on each storey, also remodeled by Kent. A single stone ogee arched porch sits between the turrets, featuring stone crockets on the gable and Greek geometric pattern impost blocks on the arch, again designed by Kent. Behind the porch is a 20th-century panelled door in an arched stone surround.

Inside, the entrance hall, which was the original gateway, has a rib-vaulted ceiling and stucco work by Kent, with some surviving ceiling and wall decorations. The interior was remodeled with some of the earliest examples of Rococo-Gothic style. Designs for this work by Kent, dated 1733, are preserved in the Royal Institute of British Architects. The gardens, also designed by Kent, were renowned in their time but no longer exist.