Back Edge

Back Edge is a large detached house dating from the mid-17th century, constructed from coursed and squared limestone with a stone slate roof. The building features a principal cross-gabled block to the east and a lower wing to the west, with two storeys, an attic, and a basement. The entrance front has one window on the left and three windows on the right; the gabled left end includes a 4-light window with a king-mullion at both the ground and first floors, and a 2-light window with a hoodmould above. The right half has 2 and 3-light windows at the ground floor, and two 2-light and one 3-light window at the first floor. An off-centre left door from the 20th century is located under a peaked head. A continuous moulded string runs over the ground floor windows and along the gable. The left return features twin gables, with a plinth that has an offset at the basement, and includes 2 and 3-light windows, a 12-pane sash in a moulded surround, and a 4-light window with a king-mullion. The first floor has a 4:2:4-light arrangement, and in the gables, there are 2-light windows with hoods and vertical oculi. The gable return on the left mirrors the east front, but the 4-light window has had a door inserted, and there is no plinth. All windows on these fronts are ovolo-mould stone mullioned casements. The south front has a hipped wing set in the corner of an L shape to the left. The west front features 2-light casements, primarily with recessed chamfered mullions, but also includes ovolo moulds with trefoil heads. An inset low wing has a door and a 2-light wooden casement. The north and south gables carry paired stacks with offsets and joined cappings; the flues on the north side have been rebuilt.

Inside, the house underwent considerable reconstruction in the early 1950s but retains a staircase with a fine 17th-century balustrade leading to a square newel with a finial dated 1650. There is a flat arched moulded fire surround on the ground floor in the south room, two encased beams, and a fireplace in the north room with a fine stone surround dated 1745, attributed to William Mills. The kitchen fireplace features a wide chamfered timber bressummer. The main bedroom has a deep stone lintel and overmantel above the fireplace, with flat diamond stops and a pulvinated frieze. The house includes many early door frames and one early door. Back Edge is a grand Cotswold house that has suffered deterioration during World War II.