(Grade II listed in 1956, and now listed as Grade II*)
(Grade II listed in 1956, and now listed as Grade II*)
The Conservation Plan describes the Manor House as a "a post-medieval building with gable stacks, to which have been added 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century extensions". One of the authors adds that "the souther wing - or at least its architectural detailing - is suspiciously pristine, and the facework displays an apparently deliberate mix of sharp irregular rubble blocks. If not wholly invented in the 19th or early 20th century, this wing must have been extensively worked over in the 1943 and later works to the extent that none of the architectural detailing is more than 100 years old".
The Inventory, however, says that the front block and the north-west wing are late 18th century, while the south-west wing (on the extreme left of the photos) is 17th century. Originally the whole roof was covered with roofing stone (as remains now only on the porch) until the pre-18th century roof structure was replaced. The dormer windows have been replaced and modified since the 1973 photograph.
The Manor House served as a vicarage, according to Dorset trade directories, from 1903 to 1939. At one time divided into two houses, it later became the home for the eldest son of the Earl of Ilchester at that time ~ the Honourable John Fox Strangways (known to the village as "the Hon John"), and later for the Honourable Mrs Townshend, the current head of the Ilchester Estate and still known to the village as "Miss Charlotte". One of the improvements she made to the house was to add a tennis court, completed in three months, despite being carved out of quite steeply sloping ground, and to lay out the formal gardens.
Since 1991, the Manor House has been let to private tenants.