Melplash Court

Melplash Court is a large house incorporating fragments from the 16th century, with substantial rebuilding in the 17th century. A western wing was replaced in 1922 by E. P. Warren, and extended southwards in the 1930s. The house is constructed of rubble and dressed stone walls with a stone slab roof, displaying four gables to the front, each with stone gable copings. There are three stone stacks at the west end eaves and on the second bay of the front elevation.

The north (front) elevation is two storeys and attics, presenting four gabled bays of varying projections and widths. The easternmost bay features a three-light stone mullion window with cavetto moulding and separate labels above. Lead lights and metal casements are present. Two blocked elliptical windows face south. A 16th-century doorway is situated on the west face, characterised by moulded stone jambs, trefoil spandrels above a depressed arch, and a square-stopped label. The door itself is a plank and muntin design from the 19th century. The second bay has a projecting central stack and a single string at the second-floor level, along with a chamfered plinth. Large single-light windows, probably 19th or 20th-century insertions, are present with moulded jambs and labels. The third bay has two windows of the same type, featuring iron casements with tension bars, likely dating to the 17th century. A moulded stone string extends above the ground floor, appearing later in the 17th century. A late 17th-century front doorway is surmounted by a stone architrave that ascends into a two-light window, divided by an ovolo mullion. The string continues as a slightly projecting cornice. The front door has recessed panels and studs, dating from around the 18th century. The fourth bay, dating to 1922, is a reconstruction with three windows exhibiting cross-transomed mullions, hollow chamfers, leaded metal casements, and separate labels. A matching gabled attic storey sits above. The 1930s wing to the south has four windows with cross-transomed wooden frames featuring ovolos, set within segmental stone heads.

The interior has been extensively altered. In the middle ground-floor room, previously a hall, there are screens to the west. A reset 16th-century oak screen has an octagonal base plate, rail and head, recess and fielded panelling, and comprises five bays, incorporating a central two-leaf door from around 1700 with bolection moulding. A partition on the east side of the former hall, c.1700, features bolection-moulded panelling. The staircase, dating from around 1700, has turned balusters and square newels, although it has been considerably repaired.

The house was historically owned by the Paulet family in the 16th century. Two removed fireplaces, now located at Mapperton, bear the arms of James I and Paulet.