Affeton Castle

Affeton Castle is a gatehouse that once served a manor house, which has since been demolished, leaving only a range of outbuildings. The gatehouse dates back to the 15th century and was sacked three times during the Civil War. It was restored in 1868 and again later in the 19th century, with some 20th-century work. The building is constructed from coursed and squared local rubble with freestone dressings and features a flat lead-sheeted roof and tall renewed stone stacks.

The gatehouse has a square plan with a now-blocked archway. The principal entrance front faces west and is two storeys high, featuring two windows with two-light stone-mullioned casements, each light topped with a cinque-foiled head. On the first floor, there is one window on the left with a transom. The central archway has a depressed arch head with a moulded surround, which is now blocked and contains a small narrow 19th-century doorway with a plank door and ornamental strap hinges. All openings have labels and carved stops. The exterior is supported by three two-stage buttresses and topped with an embattled parapet.

The right return of the gatehouse includes a shallow two-storey garderobe turret with a pent stone roof. The east elevation features additional mullioned windows, a three-storey stair-turret with four lancets and a quatrefoil window. On the ground floor, there is an elaborate narrow door opening with a pointed-arch head moulded in two orders, decorated with fleurons in the spandrels and imposts, and a label with large floral stops. This door is a 19th-century plank door with ornamental hinges. An addition made in 1868 to the north, originally a coach-house, has been converted into a dwelling and features 9- and 16-pane sash windows, along with a front-facing gable that includes an achievement and a bellcote, though the bell is missing.

The interior of the gatehouse was completely refitted during the 19th-century restoration. The only early features that remain are a stone newel staircase leading to the stair-turret and a moulded door surround off this staircase at the first floor level. The interior also includes good 19th-century work, such as a panelled room with a Jacobethan fireplace. The roof structure has not been inspected.