ur in the
west in 1680. 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. The whole structure breathes the spirit of
the Tudor age, before the classic spirit had exercised any marked
influence upon our national architecture, while the details of the
carving are almost as rich as is the moulded and sculptured work
in the brick houses of East Anglia. The features in other parts of
the exterior are all equally good, and we may certainly say of
Barrington Court that it occupies a most notable place in the
domestic architecture of England. It is also worthy of remark that
such houses as this are far rarer than those of Jacobean
times."[38]

[38] _Country Life_, September 17th, 1904.

But Barrington Court has fallen on evil days; one half of the house
only is now habitable, the rest having been completely gutted about
eighty years ago. The great hall is used as a cider store, the
wainscoting has been ruthlessly removed, and there have even been
recent suggestions of moving the whole structure across England and
re-erecting it in a strange county. It has several times changed hands
in recent years, and under these circumstances it is not surprising
that but little has been done to ensure the