Downhall Manor gatehouse, Abington Pigotts, 1913 (photo J H Bullock)(Cambridgeshire Collection)

Downhall Manor, Abington Pigotts

History of Downhall Manor

Listed building

House, formerly a farmhouse. C16 with C17 and C18 additions, C19 and C20 alterations and additions.

Stable range. C19 or earlier.

Barn. Late C16 or early C17 with later repairs. Timber

House, formerly the mill house with attached water mill. Mid C17 with C19 and C20 alterations.

Gatehouse. Early C16. Timber-framed with plastered infill. Plain tiled roof with octagonal lantern. Two storeys with first floor jetties on two sides…. The gatehouse is situated within the moated site of Down Hall.

Row of two cottages, formerly three. Early C19.

In ‘Greater Medieval House of England and Wales’: Downhall Manor is a fine example of an isolated but protected farmstead … the manor house was replaced in the C16th by the present timber-framed farmhouse. The gatehouse can be dated to c.1300 and makes it a rare survival of a once common feature.

The bell-capped lantern on the top was used for the benefit of travellers. Other beacons include the Round House, Little Thetford and the beacon tower at Cheveley church.