The Court House

The Court House is a detached house dating back to the 15th century, with alterations made in the early 17th century and the mid-17th century. It is constructed of studded timber-framing with brick nogging, partly on a stone plinth, and has a thatched roof with a half-hip to the left, along with brick stacks. The building originally functioned as a hall house with a cross wing.

It is two storeys high with a four-window facade. A fine gabled timber-framed porch stands on a stone plinth, featuring diagonal buttresses, turned balusters, carved brackets, and a ledged door. Carved into the lintel are the dates 1656 and the name “WHITAKER”. A three-light cyma-mullioned casement and a fire window are on the left, with a two-light casement to a raking dormer. The gabled bay to the right has three-light casements on both floors, and a three-light casement to the right. The cross wing to the right has a double-planked door leading to a stone basement, a three-light casement to the ground floor, and a jettied first floor. A half-glazed door is located on the left return. The right return showcases square-panelled framing with two-light casements to both the ground and first floors, along with a lateral brick stack. The left return has been rebuilt in rubble stone.

The rear of the house includes a single-storey brick wing to the right, a central gable with a three-light casement to the attic, a 20th-century glazed door in the porch, a three-light casement to the ground floor, and a timber-framed cross wing to the left.

Inside, the former kitchen at the south end has a deep chamfered beam and a large open fireplace with a chamfered lintel and bread oven. The central hall contains a Tudor arched wooden fireplace surround with a cornice, a chamfered beam on a post with foliage carving, and the date 1626 alongside the initials "JWD," representing John and Dionyse Whitaker, who married in 1618. The parlour wing, dating to around 1600, has chamfered doorcases. The first floor has a fireplace with a lintel and cornice featuring arabesque carving. One full cruck with a cambered collar is present, partially cut by a 17th-century doorway aligned with the hall stack.

Originally, the house was a through-passage open hall house dating back to the late 15th century. A parlour wing was added, and floors and stacks were inserted during the early 17th century. It represents a fine example of timber-framed architecture in the area, and was occupied by the Whitaker family, who held manor courts on the premises.