Leigh Place

Leigh Place is a house dating back to the 15th century, originally built by the Ardene family. It was subsequently remodelled and extended in the 17th century by Margaret Copeley, further extended in the 18th century, and then partially demolished and altered in a Gothic style in 1810 by Richard Caffeyn Dentz. The house is timber-framed and largely clad in red brick, with tiled roofs, including patterned tile courses. A notable feature is the wooden lantern to the right of centre, under a lead-covered, ogee-domed roof topped with a scrolled weathervane finial. The building follows a T-shaped plan, with a wing extending to the right.

The two-storey facade has a large front ridge stack positioned to the left of centre and a further stack to the front of the right-hand gable end. A rendered plinth runs along the ground floor, above which is a plat band. Offset buttresses are present under stone spike and ball finials to the left end, flanking the entrance, to the right of centre, and on the angles of the right-hand gable. Two bargeboarded gables feature pendant spike finials on the front. The first floor has a three-light, triangular-head, diamond-pane leaded casement window in each gable, set under cambered heads. The ground floor has a four-light, triangular-head window on the right, and a three-light window to the left. An embattled entrance bay breaks forward to the left of centre, featuring a triangular arch over the ground floor entrance. A 17th-century panelled oak door, with scrolled carving and a triangular transome light in a strapwork surround, is positioned to the left of centre, sheltered by an arched, lead-covered hood with a pendant spike finial and stop-chamfered angles to the posts. Foiled carving tops the door, with diamond panels in the lintel ends.

The right-hand return front is whitewashed, with a rendered plinth and roughcast above. It features three-light, Gothic style windows on the first floor, a two-light casement in the centre, and three-light outer casements to the ground floor. There's a central, half-glazed door within a gabled trellis porch. A buttress stands to the right, and a wooden turret with a clock-face sits centrally on the roof.

The rear of the house shows a gable to the left, with angle buttresses and a central stack. A parallel range lies to the right, with a 20th-century stack and a mix of casement windows.

The interior features panelled rooms on the ground floor right, with ribbed ceilings. Much of the thick frame is exposed in the lobby entry. Decorative features include carved strapwork on the centre spine beam, triangular-head panelling in ground-floor rooms, a stone floor, and a deep brick fireplace with a strapwork and lozenge-decorated lintel and palmette ends. An early 17th-century staircase has scrolled and egg-shaped balusters, and a sturdy strapwork-decorated newel post topped with a sphere finial. A shallow, half-oval curved roof is found in a first-floor room, with a moulded wall plate and Strawberry Hill style panelling on the walls. The house is situated on a moated site and is associated with medieval fishponds.