Delapre Abbey

Delapre Abbey is a large building forming a rectangular plan with an internal courtyard. Parts of the original abbey structure may remain in the north and east wings, but the main part of the house is largely 16th century, with a 17th-century west front and an 18th-century south front, all incorporating early 19th-century and later alterations.

The west front features a recessed central two-storey section built of ironstone, with a battlemented parapet. A central projecting battlemented porch has an arched opening with moulded springers and an architrave, flanked by fluted Tuscan columns on plinths supporting sections of entablature topped by ball finials. Blocked circular windows are set within moulded rectangular panels on the sides of the porch. Flanking the porch are bays of 8-light mullioned and transomed windows. To the left of the centre is a double-gabled projection of two storeys and an attic. The inner gable has a curved outline, while the outer gable is plain. Each gable has a 3-light stone mullioned attic window, and two bays of tall 18th-century sash windows below. The left-hand gable has matching sash windows on the ground floor, while the right-hand gable has 4-light stone mullioned and transomed windows. The stonework suggests different phases of building. To the right of the central part is a large two-storey stuccoed projection in an early 19th-century 'Tudor Revival' style, which is of poor design. However, original stonework from the earlier wing remains on half of the north side, incorporating one bay of 8-light mullioned and transomed windows.

The south front, featuring a cornice, parapet and 19th-century balustrading, has ten bays of sash windows plus the 'Tudor Revival' addition on the left. The windows have architrave surrounds, and the two right-hand bays are separated by pilasters, with a corresponding pilaster on the right-hand end. It appears the house was originally symmetrical on both the south and west fronts, excluding the left-hand gable.

The north and east fronts include some mullioned and transomed windows, along with later additions arranged irregularly. Internally, old doorways with four-centred arched heads and lantern wall recesses to a corridor can be found in the north wing. The corridor, which contains the lantern recesses, is believed to be part of the original abbey cloister. These recesses are framed in moulded stone and face in two directions from the inner wall. They may be earlier than the mid-16th century. Significant redecoration was undertaken in the 19th century.

Delapre Abbey forms a group with its Stable block, Billiard Room, Garden Wall and Gateway, Game Larder, Coach-House and Park House.