The Manor House and No 55
THE MANOR HOUSE AND NO 55
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1100390
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-1952
- List Entry Name:
- The Manor House and No 55
- Statutory Address:
- THE MANOR HOUSE AND NO 55
Have you got a photo to share?
Join the Missing Pieces Project. We want you to share your photos and memories.
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2004-08-19
- Reference:
- IOE01/13086/29
- Rights:
- © Mr Robert Walkley. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1100390
- Date first listed:
- 14-May-1952
- Date of most recent amendment:
- 02-Dec-1986
- List Entry Name:
- The Manor House and No 55
- Statutory Address 1:
- THE MANOR HOUSE AND NO 55
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- THE MANOR HOUSE AND NO 55
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- County:
- Hertfordshire
- District:
- Dacorum (District Authority)
- Parish:
- Little Gaddesden
- National Grid Reference:
- SP9977612877
Details
LITTLE GADDESDEN LITTLE GADDESDEN
SP 91 SE (East side)
1/198 The Manor House and No 55
30.11.66 (Formerly listed as
14.5.52 No 55 Little Gaddesden)
GV II*
House, now subdivided. 1576 for Sir Robert Dormer (plaque central on W
front 'AD1576/EE/NA.RD', service wing on S and alterations 1684 (RW head
on front dated), timber framed SW projecting wing (No. 55) C17 or
earlier, antiquarian restoration possibly 1787 (graffiti at: top of NW
stair 'WF 1787'), restoration and SE wing c.1880 for Lord Brownlow.
Tottenhoe stone ashlar, W front skinned in plaster 1958, E side
chequered stone and flint. Red brick S wings and casing to SW wing (No.
55) which has timber framing exposed on SW. Old red tile roofs. A 3
storeys symmetrical building facing W with a 2-storeys half octagonal
bay in centre flanked by 3-storey square projecting towers with
crowsteps of a half gable to N and S added for symmetry and concealing
lean-to roofs. Ovolo-moulded mullioned and transomed windows with iron
casements and old lattice leaded glazing. The fronts of the towers have
one window to each floor, 2-light with label to 3rd floor, 3-light below
a moulded string to 2nd floor, 3-light below a hoodmould on RH but small
high set 2-light on LH. Similar wide mullioned windows to central bay,
with parapet and small 2-light casement above. Datepanel on bay carved
with strapwork in egg-and-dart gadrooned sunk frame. Crow-stepped gables
between corner finials top the towers and obscure view of fine N
chimney. Sunk panel with label in each small gable, LH with clock hands.
Entrance now into side of RH tower but Buckler dwg of 1841 (HRO) shows
central doorway in ground floor of bay. RCHM Typescript suggests towers
original but crow-stepped gables and possibly top storey of towers added
c.1787. N wall has a massive ashlar chimney topped by 4 round shafts
treated like columns with bulbous bases, square abaci with stone knots
under 4 corners, supporting a deep continuous stone entablature (locally
called Jarman's Coffin). Stepped buttresses on N. E wall has mullioned
and transomed 3-light windows probably c.1684. The hall occupies the
whole ground floor of N block with 2 chamfered crossbeams and no
indication of an original partition. Splendid carved stone chimney piece
central on N wall with 4-centred opening carved spandrels, strapwork
rectangular surround, paired Corinthian columns sharing panelled dies,
carrying a moulded entablature with inlaid running scroll in frieze.
Overmantle with carved figures inset in projecting end piers under
enriched cornice with royal arms and ER painted central between scenes
with Elizabethan figures female on RH and male on LH said to depict the
arrest of Princess Elizabeth at Ashridge after Wyatt's rebellion 1553/4.
Large painted timber panel painted with scene of this arrest hangs
framed on wall, said to be a door found in cellar in 1890's. Arched
openings as screen at S end of room may have replaced the normal buttery
and pantry arrangement c.1684. Wainscotting probably from Old Ashridge.
Solar on 1st floor has simpler chimneypiece. Remains of former clasped
purlin roof over 1st floor remain above S wall. Timber framed SE 1½
storeys block altered and encased in C19 with N wall chimney of 2
diagonal shafts, and parallel brick extension with small 2-light windows
and moulded parapet. Large central chimneys. C19 extension to SE.
(VCH(1908)11-13: RCHM(1911)143-4 no.4: Pevsner(1977)237: RCHM
Typescript: senar(1983)99-100).
Listing NGR: SP9977612877
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 157729
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Doubleday, AH, The Victoria History of the County of Hertford, (1908), 143-4
Senar, H, Little Gaddesden and Ashridge, (1983), 99-100
Pevsner, N, Cherry, B, The Buildings of England: Hertfordshire, (1977), 237
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jul-2026 at 23:45:00.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.