Brownshill House

Brownshill House is a large, detached house in Painswick, originally listed as Wick Street Farmhouse. It dates to the 17th century, with a plaque above the entrance indicating Edward Palling, 1665, though the building's appearance suggests earlier origins. The house is constructed of limestone ashlar with stone slate roofs. Its long, narrow form suggests it may have originated as a hall house, later incorporating a service wing to the left and a hall with a parlour to the right, but the facade presents a complete two or two-and-a-half-story 17th-century layout.

The house has two prominent gables, one coped and far left, and another uncoped near the right end. The window arrangement is 1:2:1:1, featuring stone mullioned casements with leading, and stopped hoods over most windows. The left gable has a 2-, 3-, and 4-light window with a king mullion. To the right of the door is a 3-light window above a 2-light window, the latter being smaller, lower, and without a hood. Two stair lights are present, and the right gable has a 2-light window above a 3-light window, the latter likely replacing a former 4-light. An extreme right window is of 2-light design. A plaque is set high in the left gable while a small oculus is located in the right gable.

The main entrance is a plank and batten door within a moulded surround, featuring moulded imposts and a flat basket-handle arch set within a deep lintel stone. The lintel stone is topped with a capping mould and carries a keystone decorated with a date and initials. Above the door is a vesica piscis within a rusticated surround featuring oeil-de-boeuf windows glazed with intersecting Gothic leading. The gables are coped; the left gable has a stack, and there are two further ridge stacks.

The rear elevation is similar, with a central section constructed of coursed rubble. It has two 4-light wood windows with a transom, a central 3-light dormer, and a small square light to the left of the door. A 20th-century glazed door is located far left under a large stone lintel. The right gable has a 2-over-3-over-3-light window and a 2-over-3-over-2-light window, with a small oculus high in the gable.

The interior features a panel and muntin screen to the left of the entrance hall. The central room contains a deep chamfered stopped beam with run-out stops, a large fireplace with a 20th-century bressummer, and some opened-up timber framework in a partition. The drawing room boasts a 2-panel 17th-century plaster ceiling, a large square fire opening with an ovolo-mould surround and a shouldered mantel shelf, and a spiral stair beside the fireplace. The roof structure is not visible. The building has an unusual elongated horse plan. William Palling, who built or rebuilt the house in 1665, had four sons, and also owned Well Farmhouse.