Whetham House

Whetham House is a country house dating from the early to mid 17th century, likely built on an earlier core, with 19th-century extensions. It is constructed of rubble stone, originally plastered, with stone slate roofs, coped gables, and ashlar stacks. The house has a complex, rambling plan and two storeys with an attic. The south front’s range features two gables on the right, each with a 3-light recessed chamfered mullion window with a hoodmould. Below are six windows, each a 2-light mullion-and-transom window with hoodmoulds, linked by a flush ashlar band; the original mullions and transoms have been replaced with timber. There are six windows above and five below, and a 19th-century gabled porch to the left, with a door in a plain ashlar surround. Carved stone fragments are located under the first-floor window on the left. To the left projects a 19th-century ironstone gable with large mullion-and-transom windows. The west end gable is also 19th century, while the east end gable features an urn finial, a 3-light window to the attic, and 2-light mullion-and-transom windows on each floor below, mirroring the south front.

Behind the main range are two parallel ranges, the east range largely 19th or early 20th century, and the west range 17th century, containing two 2-light stone mullion-and-transom windows with hoodmoulds on each floor, with an ornate armorial cartouche placed between the upper windows. A cross-wing at the north end of the west range has a mullion window to the attic and 2-light mullion-and-transom windows to each floor below, all with hoodmoulds. The north side of this wing contains 2-light mullion-and-transom windows on each floor, with a door and a further bay to the left featuring a 20-pane sash above a 20th-century matching mullion-and-transom window. A 19th-century north gable projects to the left, and the east gable of the wing is also 19th century. The east range, enclosing a small rear court, appears to be a 19th-century addition behind the front range, and an early 20th-century addition features two triangular oriels and an open gallery infilling to the right. The interior was largely altered in the 19th century. The house has been held by the same family since the 13th century, first by the Fynamore family from around 1250 to 1574, then by descent to the Ernle family, and from the late 18th century to the Money family, known as Money-Kyrle from around 1800. Sir J. Ernle, who died in 1697, served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Queen Anne visited the house in 1703.