The Manor House And Attached Brewhouse

The Manor House and attached brewhouse, dating to circa 1540-60, was originally built by Lawrence Washington, who acquired the manor in 1539. It passed to the Rev. Moses Hodges circa 1673, and his son John made alterations around 1700, adding the north-east wing. By the late 18th century, the house had become a farm and portions were demolished. The central section, retaining the original right-hand half and porch, represents the core of the original building. The left half was rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s by Sir Reginald Blomfield, who also restored the house. The construction is of coursed limestone rubble, with a rendered porch, a stone slate roof, and brick and stone stacks. The layout is L-shaped, with a through passage. The house is two storeys and an attic, with three bays. The gabled two-storey porch, centrally located, features an entrance with a four-centred arch under a square hood bearing Washington arms in the spandrels. A Washington coat of arms is rendered in plaster above, and a three-light window with a wood lintel and old iron casement is on the first floor. A plaster coat of arms depicting Queen Elizabeth I is in the gable, and there's a triangular plaster device, reportedly a wool stapler’s symbol, at the apex. The inner doorway has a four-centred wood arch and a 20th-century panelled door. The ground floor has four-light wood mullioned and transomed windows with wood lintels, while the first floor features four-light wood mullioned windows with wood lintels. A coped gable end with kneelers is present on the left side. Attached to the house to the north is a former brewhouse, now used as offices, connected by a short stone wall. Likely constructed around 1700, it was remodelled in the 20th century by Sir Reginald Blomfield. The brewhouse is of coursed limestone rubble with a stone slate roof and is one storey and loft in height, featuring four bays with two doorways using plank doors and a pair of 20th-century wood mullioned windows. Interior features include large 16th-century plaster figures of a lion and dragon on the porch side walls. The Great Hall features a screen designed by Blomfield, an original open fireplace with a moulded timber four-centred arch and stone jambs, and a ceiling with moulded cross beams forming 24 square panels. The windows contain reproductions of stained-glass arms of the Washington family; the originals are located in Fawsley Church and Weston Hall. An oak parlour on the ground floor has an early 18th-century fireplace with a moulded stone surround and matching panelled walls and overmantel. The kitchen contains a large open fireplace with ovens. A late 17th-century staircase has twisted balusters. The Great Chamber on the first floor has a fireplace similar to that in the hall and an open timber roof of two bays, featuring a cambered collar beam and central moulded pendant, with arched braces carved on moulded wood corbels. The interior of the former brewhouse was not inspected. Lawrence Washington was a wool merchant and later became mayor of Northampton. In 1610, Sulgrave Manor was purchased by his grandson, Lawrence Makepeace. It was subsequently sold in 1659, severing ties with the Washington family. The manor was acquired in 1914 as a memorial to George Washington.