The house, which is E-shaped, with central porch and
wings at each end, is built of the beautiful Ham Hill stone which
abounds in the district; the colour of this stone greatly enhances the
appearance of the house and adds to its venerable aspect. It has
little ornamental detail, but what there is is very good, while the
loftiness and general proportions of the building--its extent and
solidity of masonry, and the taste and care with which every part has
been designed and carried out, give it an air of dignity and
importance.
"The angle buttresses to the wings and the porch rising to twisted
terminals are a feature surviving from mediaeval times, which
disappeared entirely in the buildings of Stuart times. These
twisted terminals with cupola-like tops are also upon the gables,
and with the chimneys, also twisted, give a most pleasing and
attractive character to the structure. We may go far, indeed,
before we find another house of stone so lightly and gracefully
adorned, and the detail of the mullioned windows with their arched
heads, in every light, and their water-tables above, is admirable.
The porch also has a fine Tudor arch, which might form the
entrance to some college quadrangle, and there are rooms above and
gables on either hand.
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