High Hall

House, probably dating from circa 1615, with alterations and remodelling in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. It was likely built for George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham. The house is constructed of timber framing within rendered rubble stone walls, with brick nogging to the interior, and has a pantile roof and a concrete stack. Originally, it comprised a two-story, three-bay main range with two-story, two-bay crosswings. The left crosswing bay was rebuilt in the 19th century and demolished in the 20th century, leaving the main range as four bays. A rear outshut staircase has been raised and retains some timber framing. The original entrance is retained to the left of the centre, now under a 20th-century glazed stone porch with a pitched roof. This porch incorporates a portion of a 17th-century wall containing a blocked squint window with chamfered reveals. Four-pane sash windows are located to the left and right of the porch, and in the crosswing gable wall. There are four matching windows above. The gable end of the crosswing retains original timber framing, including a shaped king-post with V-bracing supported by a stop-chamfered tie beam on shaped brackets. Strap-pattern bargeboards, likely from the 19th century, are also present, along with similar bargeboards finishing the gable wall to the left of the main range. A rear staircase window is a Venetian window with the columns removed, set under an earlier thin timber lintel. Inside, the original timber framing posts of the main range survive within the later walls, and stop-chamfered joists are present throughout the ground floor. A mid-18th century open string, dogleg staircase features turned balusters and shaped cheekpieces, with a dado of fielded panels to the staircase and panelled reveals to the staircase window and the ground floor room to the right. During a re-roofing in 1980, the gable truss from the rear of the right crosswing was moved to the left gable wall of the main range.