Knoyle Place

Knoyle Place is a detached house, originally a rectory, with a complex history spanning the late 14th century, the 17th century, and a significant late 18th-century addition. The limestone ashlar facade of the 18th-century wing is topped with a Welsh slate hipped roof and ashlar stacks, while the earlier fabric is constructed of rubble stone with a tiled roof. The house is arranged in an L-shape, with the original section now serving as service areas to the 18th-century addition.

The symmetrical east front features a two-storey, three-window arrangement. The recessed central bay contains a door with six fielded panels, a fanlight, and sidelights, sheltered by a Tuscan porch. Flanking this are two 12-pane sash windows set within semi-circular heads. The first floor mirrors this arrangement with three 12-pane sash windows, the left one blind. A moulded cornice sits above a plain stone blocking course. The garden front to the left has five 15-pane sashes on the ground floor, with the side bays slightly projecting and featuring semi-circular headed panels. A plat band runs across the three centre bays of the first floor, where 12-pane sashes are found, topped by a cornice and blocking course.

Attached to the left is a 14th-century range, rebuilt in the 17th century. At the rear of a former through passage, there's a blocked door with a 2-light wood mullioned casement, and a 2-light 19th-century mullioned casement. A 17th-century recessed chamfered mullioned casement and a 20th-century replacement mullioned casement are also present. The first floor of this section has one 2-light casement and two 3-light casements. Adjoining this is a rubble stone addition, likely from the 18th century, with a glazed door. The rear of the building showcases a four-panelled door to the left, two 2-light leaded casements, and a 14th-century moulded pointed doorway with an inserted leaded casement. Planked doors are positioned to the right, while the first floor has 2-light wooden casements. A 20th-century hipped dormer sits above the door on the left-hand side. The right return of the 18th-century section has 12-pane sashes, a half-glazed door, and a round-headed stair window. The rear features similar windows and a short gabled wing.

Internally, the 14th and 17th-century ranges have been altered for service use and modernised in the 20th century, but retain stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops, and evidence of a former through passage. The 18th-century wing retains original features, including an open-well staircase with stick balusters and a moulded wreathed handrail. The dining room has fluted columns, a stylised classical frieze, and a dado with guilloche ornament. The library boasts a saucer dome ceiling with plain plaster decoration, while the drawing room contains a reeded marble fireplace and a ceiling frieze featuring egg and dart and guilloche motifs. Additional notable features include joinery consisting of 6-panelled doors with centre beads and window shutters. The building was the home of the Wren family at the time of Sir Christopher Wren’s birth; local legend suggests he was born elsewhere due to a fire at the rectory. The building ceased to function as the rectory in the 1940s.