Babington House

Babington House is a country house set in landscaped grounds, built around 1705 for Henry Mompesson. It was altered and extended in 1790 for Captain Charles Knatchbull, possibly by John Pinch, with further work done in the 19th century. The house is constructed from coursed and squared rubble with freestone dressings, featuring a plinth, a lintel band, rusticated alternating quoins, a dentil cornice, and a plain parapet with coping. The hipped roof is covered with concrete tiles, and there are some flat-roofed dormers with sash windows on the returns.

The building has a roughly rectangular plan and includes a central light-well, with a symmetrical early Georgian front. It consists of a basement, two storeys, and an attic, with seven bays and 12-pane sash windows in moulded architraves on the ground floor, which also features cornice drips. The central door opening has a bolection moulded architrave and a semi-circular stone shell hood on brackets with enrichment, leading to a three-quarter glazed door. The north front has a large two-storey, three-window bow with 12-pane sash windows, while the seven-bay south front has a projecting entrance with a Gothick door opening. At the rear, there is a single-storey service wing.

Inside, the house contains important features, including a hall with ornamental plasterwork on the ceiling, a staircase with turned and twisted balusters, dado panelling, and doors in bolection moulded surrounds. The dining room also features ornamental plasterwork, doorcases, and a chimneypiece. The first-floor drawing room is richly decorated, and there are additional features such as chimneypieces, ornamental plasterwork, panelling, and re-used medieval glass. It is believed that the building stands on 17th-century foundations.