Manor Farmhouse

Manor Farmhouse

Located in Aston Subedge village, this is a substantial house of the 16th and 17th centuries with 19th-century modifications. The building comprises three distinct parts arranged in a flat U-plan: an early wing projecting to the right, a central block to the left, and a staircase wing projecting forward to the left. A staircase turret projects back from the left side.

The construction is varied: the centre block is ashlar, the right wing employs close-stud timber framing with coursed dressed stone, and the left wing is built of coursed squared limestone. All sections are roofed with limestone slate and feature coped gables topped with ball finials. The building rises to two storeys with an attic storey.

The façade displays 2, 3, and 4-light flat-chamfered mullioned casements with leaded lights and transoms at ground and first-floor levels. The first floor has stopped hoods over its windows. A continuous string moulding runs over the ground-floor windows, returning over the first window to the left wing, which has 4-light windows with king mullions. The centre block displays three Cotswold gables. The main entrance is a 19th-century plank door positioned off-centre left, within a chamfered 4-centred flush opening.

The right gable contains two small single-light chamfered casements at attic level and traces of a window hood in the framing, now partially concealed by a later lean-to structure attached to the left wall. The left wing features a principal gable at the front and a Cotswold gable rising from the eaves, both two storeys and attic height. Its left wall preserves a 16th-century window with three slightly pointed, round-headed lights. The principal gable contains two 4-light flat-chamfered mullioned casements with king mullions and 2-light casements with transoms at ground and first floors. The left staircase turret has two small single lights, the lower one pointed.

From the rear, a two-storey gable projects to the left with 19th-century casements. The main body shows two 3-light and one 4-light late 16th-century casements with rounded heads at the upper level, and at ground floor two similar 3-light windows plus one 5-light and one 3-light window with hollow chamfering and stone mullions, both having hood moulds, flanking an external stack. Set low to the far left is a blocked 16th-century single light with cusping, possibly originally a fire window, though traditionally said to have contained an effigy. A small door in a 4-centred opening sits centrally, above which is an inscribed stone reading "EX DONO / AMANTISSIME MATRIS / DESIDERATISIME / FRANCISCAE STUART / COMITISSAE DE HARROWBY AD 1855."

Chimneys include a small brick stack to the gable of the right wing. The central block has coursed rubble at its back elevation, with one flush stack featuring three diagonal flues and two projecting limestone stacks—one with two flues, the other with one flue—all of brick construction.

The interior of the right wing contains tie beams with stepped mouldings and stepped decoration at regular intervals along their sides. A square hole, now blocked, possibly for alms-giving, is obscured by later buildings on the right-hand wall. The main block features a large stone fireplace with a 4-centred arch in the right corner at the rear. The main staircase is of 19th-century date, possibly copying an original. A late 16th or 17th-century stone fireplace with a roll-moulded 4-centred arch is found in the room to the left of the hallway. The room at the far left has a stone fireplace and a 4-centred arched doorway opening to the staircase turret projection. The forward part of the left wing retains a 17th-century dog-leg staircase with turned balusters. Only the ground floor was fully inspected; the first and second floors were used as a granary and hay loft during the 19th century.

The house was the residence of Endymion Porter, born in 1587, who served as ambassador to Charles I. Prince Rupert was a frequent guest.