Medford House And Garden Walls

Medford House is a manor house dating from around 1694, originally built for Samuel Medford. Two 20th-century extensions have been added: one on the right, dated and initialled R.B. and A.B. 1938, and another to the left. The main body of the house is constructed from ashlar stone, with a brick rear wall featuring a three-course bond of alternating header and stretcher courses. It features tall, single ashlar stacks with moulded tops rising from the eaves on both the left and right sides, and a triple stack off-centre to the left. An original service wing is located to the left, also in ashlar, with buttresses and flat coping to the gables, topped with roll cross saddle and ball finials. A 20th-century extension is attached to the left, using ashlar to the facade but extending back in timber framing with brick infill. A brick service wing, built on a limestone plinth, stands to the right of the main body, with a twin ashlar stack rising from the right gable end between two gables. Limestone slate covers the roofs of all sections.

The plan includes the main body, a 1930s brick service wing set back, and a 20th-century ashlar and timber-framed extension attached to the rear left corner of the original service wing, which is located to the left of the main body.

The facade of the main body is two storeys and an attic, with three dormers – two having hipped roofs – all featuring 2-light casement windows with leaded panes. The windows are arranged in a 1:1:1 pattern; the outer bays project slightly and are lit by 3-light, mullioned and transomed casement windows with leaded panes. A moulded string runs below the windows. The central entrance features a 6-panel door with rusticated Ionic pilasters, a keystone, and voussoirs above a pulvinated frieze and cornice with a broken pediment. A fire insurance plaque is affixed to the pediment. The eaves have a modillioned cornice. A rainwater head, dated and initialled R.D. 1797, is located on the front left.

The service wing to the left is single storey and an attic, with a 3-light dormer window set against the wall of the main body. It is two-windowed, with 2-light stone mullioned casement windows with leaded panes, and a single-light pantry window to the far right. The 20th-century extension to the left has a 4-centred arched doorway with a flat hood on the right, and a 2-light stone mullioned casement to the left. The brick facade of the extension to the right is two storeys and two-windowed, with 2-light mullioned and transomed casements flanking a limestone coat of arms.

Subsidiary features include coursed, squared, and dressed limestone walls that run from the corners of the main body at right angles, each with a depressed arch, and stone doorways leading towards the house. Medford House is notable as one of the key examples of the transition from the Cotswold vernacular tradition to Queen Anne classical style, incorporating both vernacular and Renaissance elements.