A small secondary road and then a country lane snake through fields up to the estate’s entrance. A driveway lined with tall trees leads to a courtyard, which is edged with the manor and two long, spacious outbuildings. Beyond the courtyard, there is a large lake beside farm buildings.

The manor

The manor faces east and west. It is an imposing building made of pale rubble stone. The edifice was built at the start of the 16th century. The rectangular main section is framed between two corner towers. One tower houses a dovecote and the other one houses a former chapel. Though the building is traditionally shaped, its bays and windows suggest an imaginative spirit with both vertical and horizontal asymmetry. Yet the whole structure is harmonious and elegant. Some of its decorative features date back to the edifice’s time of construction. For example, there are protective grates, stone-mullioned windows, dormers with large gable ends, and cone slate roofs. A low wall of rubble stone stands in front of the manor and runs in a broad semi-circle. It forms a pleasant separation with the courtyard.

The ground floor
A flight of front steps leads up to an arched entrance door. This double door stands in an archway of dressed stone. The entrance door takes you into a hallway that sets the tone for the rest of the manor’s interior: it has a French-style beamed ceiling, an ogee-arch lintel and a coat of arms. These decorative features can be seen in most of the manor’s rooms, as can many fireplaces, the majority of which are made of dressed stone with sculpted corbels, column-like jambs and hoods stretching up to the ceiling. There are three steps on one side of the hallway. At the same level as the hall, an arched opening leads into an extensive dual-aspect room with a monumental fireplace that houses a stove. A door takes you to the back of the manor. A second door leads to a spiral staircase that takes you to the different floors. Opposite, there is a separate lavatory, a kitchen and a scullery. On the other side of the hallway, a door leads to a second reception room. Its embellishments mirror those of the first one. Beyond it, in one of the towers, there is a former chapel with a spiral stone staircase. This staircase leads down to a crypt, which you can also reach from the courtyard. Its walls and vaulted ceiling are made of rubble schist.

The first floor
A spiral staircase leads up to the first floor. One corridor connects to two bedrooms and a walk-in wardrobe. A second corridor connects to a bathroom, a separate lavatory, a large bedroom and a smaller bedroom in one of the towers. The bedroom windows look out at the courtyard. From the spiral staircase, a few more steps take you to a vast dual-aspect room with a monumental fireplace, then a second bedroom in one of towers. These rooms need to be renovated. The remains of a stone fireplace can still be seen. Wood strip flooring extends across the rooms, which have French-style beamed ceilings.

The second floor
The spiral staircase leads up to two doors. One takes you to the loft. The other one takes you to an extensive room that is similar to the previous ones. It has a French-style beamed ceiling, wood strip flooring and a fireplace of dressed stone. A doorway with a dressed-stone surround and an ogee-arch lintel leads to two connecting rooms. The last one, which lies in one of the towers, houses a dovecote with many pigeonholes. The timber framing of the tower’s cone roof is exposed. All the rooms on this floor need to be restored.

The attic
You can easily reach the loft via stone steps. This space could be converted. Dormers fill it with natural light. Wood strip flooring extends across the loft and the roof frame is exposed. The door surrounds through which you go from one room to another are made of dressed stone. They are arched and have mouldings. In one of the towers, there is an earthen floor and the remains of a former fireplace can still be seen.