Old Castle House

Old Castle House is a detached house dating to 1563, built for William Selwyn, a clothier. It was constructed as a replacement for an earlier house believed to have been destroyed in a fire that affected the village in the 16th century, and may incorporate elements of the original structure.

The house is built of random rubble limestone, with roughcast rendering, ashlar quoins and dressings, and a stone slate roof. It has a two-storey main range with an attic, and long north-east and shorter stair wings to the rear, forming an F-plan. The front elevation has scattered window openings, mostly former 2-light recessed cavetto mullioned casements, with the mullions now removed. A central doorway has a moulded 4-centred arch with spandrels bearing the initials WS, a woolmark, and the date 1563. The hoodmould is topped with mutilated lozenge labels, leading to an original heavy plank door. A blocked former doorway with a hoodmould is located to the left, with a 19th-century casement inserted between the two doorways. A brick outbuilding is attached to the right-hand end. The south-west end features off-centre glazed doors with a timber porch, and upper floor windows, one formerly 3-light, the other 2-light, with a projecting pulley block over, both with hoodmoulds. The rear has two gabled wings, each with scattered single-light casements, several with hoodmoulds. One gable has a brick rebuilt ridge-mounted chimney. A projecting chimney stack with a tall ashlar shaft and moulded cap is situated to the right of a smaller gable; various plain stone gargoyles are also present. A shorter wing has a coursed rubble lean-to addition. The north-east end displays a gable end with single-window casement fenestration, each with a moulded surround and hoodmould. A 2-light recessed cavetto mullioned casement with a hood is included to the side of the wing.

The interior retains many original features, although some are concealed by later alterations. The central rear wing contains a stone spiral staircase rising to the attic, with stone Tudor-arched doorways. A stone floor extends to the upper floor lobby. Timber-framed partitions, also with Tudor-arched doorways, are on the upper floor. Some 19th-century inserted partitions and doors date from a conversion to a public house. Original panelling was re-used at Avening Court in Avening civil parish.