Chalford Place

Chalford Place is a detached house with a complex history, dating to the mid-16th century and significantly altered in the mid-to-late 17th century. The south front was rebuilt around 1710, and further changes occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries. The construction combines random and coursed rubble with ashlar limestone, featuring ashlar chimneys and a stone slate roof.

The north side of the house is two storeys with an attic, while the south side is three storeys high. There are two-storey additions to each end. The south front is asymmetrical but likely intended to be balanced. A projecting section on the left side of the centre has a two-window arrangement to the ground and middle floors, featuring 12-pane sash windows with thick ovolo glazing bars in openings with shouldered and eared keyed architraves and bull-nosed sills. Keystones link these floors with plain bands. The upper floor’s tripartite windows have a 3-centred arched central sash. A chimney with three diagonal shafts is located on the left side, just below the eaves. The left portion of the facade is characterized by plain three-light windows on each floor, the upper floor window having arched lights with mullions extended to form panels between floors. To the right of this projection are four sashes arranged vertically, with bull-nosed dividing sills. A doorway is located to the right, topped by a segmental pediment on shaped brackets. A projecting portion of the 17th-century wing to the right has a half-hipped roof and an upper floor sash added during the 1710 alterations; below this are a timber casement and doorway, both with timber lintels. The main roof is hipped with a moulded eaves coving, and the keystones of the upper windows are incorporated into this design. The west end has been refaced in ashlar, featuring a blocked upper-floor doorway with a flat hood on brackets, allowing for storage in large attics. A tall chimney with central pilaster strips is located to the left, below the eaves. A blocked round-arched doorway sits below a vehicle passage, with roofing above. The north side features three gables, two of which represent the original house. Restored 19th-century mullioned casements with hood moulds are present on the upper floor and in the attic windows along the gables. Evidence of blocked openings is visible in the gable apexes. A tall chimney rises from the ridge, with the roof of the 18th-century south range extending behind.

Inside, there are large fireplaces, two with bread ovens, and a stone spiral stair adjacent to the west end fireplace. Stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops are present. An 18th-century staircase was removed during a 19th-century alteration. The roof structure is unusual, retaining half of the earlier roof over the north side of the building and showcasing extended collars cut through. The southern side features a high collar roof with arched bracing. The Hawksmoor-like south front appears to be part of an elaborate rebuilding and enlargement, left incomplete due to changes of ownership. The property was recorded as an inn by 1803, following the construction of the nearby Thames and Severn Canal.