Iffield

Iffield is a large, detached house built in the Cottage Ornée style, dating to 1823, with later extensions in the 19th century. The house has solid rendered walls and a slate roof, with several red-brick chimneys, some of which are rendered. It is arranged in a U-shaped plan with various projections, and features a lower range in the centre, effectively infilling a courtyard. The main entrance is through the east wing.

The two-storey east front has a central gabled projection with two pointed-arched openings in the ground floor, each framed by a moulded architrave. A doorway to the right has half-glazed double doors with glazing-bars following the curve of the arch. A sash window to the left mirrors the glazing-bar pattern. An upper-floor window matches the design. The projection has raised quoins and patterned bargeboards. To the left of the projection, there are pointed-arched blind windows in each storey, also with moulded architraves. A canted bay window, a later addition to the right, has reeded corner boards and a deep boxed eaves cornice. The windows of this wing are similar to the ones above, but without patterned glazing; those in the ground floor have cinquefoil arches filled with coloured glass. The south front exhibits gabled wings with patterned bargeboards and windows consistent with the older part of the east front. The single-storeyed section centrally has a canted bay window with matching glazing, attached to which is a conservatory in the same style. The north front also features windows with pointed arches, the ground floor ones incorporating cinquefoil tracery and coloured glass.

Inside, a wooden staircase has an open Gothic balustrade. A room to the right of the staircase features panelled doors with oil paintings depicting lake and seascapes, believed to be by the artist Arthur Hughes, for whom the house was originally built. The owner reports additional paintings concealed behind wall coverings in an adjoining room, which has a later bay window to the east. A single-storeyed range, likely a former billiard room, boasts a lavishly-enriched cornice and ceiling band, with two recesses flanking the chimneybreast, each with multi-cusped Gothic arches. The house also contains several studded Gothic doors and plaster cornices.

Historical records indicate that in 1869, T.L. Pridham, a close friend of Arthur Hughes (1803-1838), wrote of the house, noting that numerous fresco paintings and other artworks by Hughes still adorned its walls. Hughes resided in the house for several years and produced several works of merit there.