Highthorne

HIGHTHORNE is a manor house dating back to the 16th century, with substantial alterations and additions from the 1900s and a reconstruction in the 1950s. Originally built for the Goulton family, it is constructed of brown and grey coursed sandstone with clay interlocking tile roofs. The building has a complex plan, with a main range of two storeys and three first-floor windows, a projecting cross-wing of two storeys and a loft, and a rear extension dating from around 1900.

The main range features walls primarily from the 16th century, a chamfered offset plinth, and a 20th-century stepped buttress, possibly indicating the removal of a former section of the original building. A 20th-century hardwood door is set within a 16th-century deeply-chamfered segmental-arched surround. 20th-century mullion-and-transom windows, with hood moulds on the ground floor, are present; on the first floor, a 2-light window is flanked by 3-light windows. A 16th-century moulded cornice is visible, along with 20th-century shaped kneelers and ashlar coping on the left, and a 20th-century brick stack on the right.

The cross-wing has an old, chamfered stone plinth, with the rest of the structure in 20th-century grey sandstone. A ten-light mullion-and-transom window is located on the ground and first floors, with king mullions between the third and fourth, and seventh and eighth lights. A first-floor string separates the levels. The gable features a 16th-century two-light double-chamfered mullion window with a 16th-century dripmould and a 20th-century cornice, and above that, a 16th-century oval window set in a diamond-shaped panel with a gabled hood mould. Shaped kneelers and coping, with a 16th-century finial, complete the gable.

At the rear of the main range, three gabled bays are constructed in brick. The bay nearest the cross-wing dates back to the 16th century and has two 20th-century casement windows on the ground and first floors, a brick string, a 16th-century keyed ashlar surround to an oculus in the gable, a 16th-century circular brick chimney to the left, moulded coping, and a 16th-century finial. An adjacent bay displays a 20th-century reconstruction of a staircase window. The left return features entirely 20th-century stonework, with a two-storey porch and Tudor-style openings. The right return shows construction from around 1900, with brickwork on the ground floor and timber framing on the first floor. The site was historically known as "High Tun" and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. A fire occurred in 1942, during which soldiers were billeted at the house, reportedly destroying a staircase and panelling.