Higher Melcombe House With Attached Chapel

Higher Melcombe House, with an attached chapel, is a country house that likely dates back to the 15th century, with additions and alterations made in the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The chapel was built in the 17th century, with 16th-century work commissioned by Sir John Horsey and the chapel itself for Sir Thomas Freke. The structure features walls made of banded flint, ashlar, and render, topped with slate roofs that have stone slate verges and gable ends, along with various chimney stacks. The building is arranged in an L-shape, with the chapel forming the northern arm and consists of two storeys.

The fenestration is varied, including some 17th-century square-headed stone mullioned windows with returned labels, as well as 19th-century sash and casement windows, including a canted bay on the eastern side. The chapel's southern façade has two windows, each with three lancets under two-centred heads and returned labels, flanking a doorway with a chamfered, segmental-pointed head, continuous jambs, and a stopped label. The northern chapel windows have been much altered but originally featured two-light 'perpendicular' tracery under two-centred heads with returned labels. A 17th-century stone bell-cote is also present.

Inside, the chapel boasts an eight-bay wagon roof with moulded ribs, foliate bosses, and painted emblems, originally plastered. There is an early 18th-century staircase with cut strings, twisted balusters, and moulded handrails, along with walls featuring bolection-moulded panelling in the dado. The cellar may contain a doorway from the 15th century. The drawing room has a fireplace with a chamfered elliptical head and continuous jambs, along with various 17th-century fireplaces. Above the drawing room, a chamber features elaborate early 17th-century panelling and a richly decorated plaster ceiling with ribs and plants in relief, while another chamber has a simpler plaster ceiling. The house includes both 15th-century and 17th-century panelling.