Combe Head

Combe Head is a former manor house dating to the early 19th century, believed to be a remodelling of an earlier house from the early 17th century. The building is constructed of stuccoed stone rubble with a hipped roof hidden behind a parapet, and has rendered end stacks. The plan is a “U” shape, with a main range of single depth containing the principal rooms, a central entrance leading into a stair hall, and rear left and right wings. A two-span hipped roof projection at the centre of the rear partially fills the rear courtyard. While the visible features largely date to the early 19th century, the underlying plan suggests the potential presence of fabric from the earlier 17th-century house. The front facade is symmetrical with three bays, featuring a central porch with paired pilasters and a moulded cornice, capped by a moulded cornice below the parapet. The windows are early 19th-century 16-pane sash windows, with sash windows to the returns and casement windows at the rear. A round-headed stair window at the rear features Y tracery and margin glazing. Internally, early 19th-century features remain, including plaster cornices and a well-crafted stick baluster staircase. A photograph held by the owners shows a former orangery, which was demolished around 1960, adjoining the right end of the main range.