The Manor House/Dowdeswell Place

The Manor House, also known as Dowdeswell Place, is a former manor house now occupied by three separate households. It was originally built in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, likely by the Abbington family, and subsequently altered in the mid-17th century, late 19th century, early 20th century, and late 20th century. The house is constructed of dressed limestone, with a stone slate roof and stone stacks. Originally a quadrangle, it now has an "H" shape, with wings projecting forward to the left and right of a central projecting porch. A small wing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries projects at right angles from the left-hand wall, situated to the left of a blocked doorway. The right-hand wing was substantially rebuilt in the mid to late 19th century, with a further Cotswold-style extension added in the 20th century to the gable end.

The main facade is symmetrical, with gabled wings projecting forward on both sides. The house has two storeys, an attic, and a cellar. There is a 1:3:1 window arrangement on the front. On the ground floor of the left-hand gable end is a six-light stone mullioned window with ovolo moulding, and a similar six-light window with a transom above. Both windows feature king mullions. Two-light ovolo-moulded stone mullioned windows illuminate the attic. All windows have dripmoulds, with the hood mould over the first-floor window of the left-hand wing stepped upwards. The windows contain metal casements with leaded panes or horizontal glazing bars.

The central projecting porch has a studded plank door within a moulded surround, featuring bag stops. Above the door is a Baroque cartouche displaying the arms of the Rich family, formerly positioned above the original doorway. A bull-eye window with carved spandrels is above the door surround. A large projecting stack rises from the rear wall of the central hall, alongside axial stacks, all with moulded cappings. The gable ends have saddleback coping with pointed finials and moulded kneelers.

Inside, the hall features a large, almost flat, Tudor-arched fireplace with a moulded surround. A high, Tudor-arched, moulded stone archway leads from the hall to the east wing, which contains a fine open-well staircase dating to approximately 1700, complete with turned balusters, a ball finial, and pendants. The newels are decorated with debased blind arched detailing. C17 panelling is found in a room at the rear of the left-hand wing, alongside a Tudor-arched stone fireplace with a moulded stone surround and an ornate cornice shelf with stepped mouldings. Further C17 panelling is in an upstairs room, alongside a late 17th-century stone fireplace with bolection moulding.

The house passed from the Abbington family to the Rich family in the mid-17th century, and was subsequently bought by a London merchant named van Notton and then the Pole family.