About one third of a large Tudor mansion built for his grandson, John Gyles, in the beginning of the 16th century remains and was incorporated into the current building.

Shortly after purchasing the house in 1704, Nicholas Trist enlarged it by adding ranges to cover two sides of the original building.

Sir Nikolaus Pevsner comments that it is "one of the few examples in the country of an essay in Baroque taste, the details rather better than the sum of the parts, as seen so often in provincial work.

Its interior contains its former Tudor hall, later converted to a kitchen, which retains a moulded plaster ceiling decorated with rib work and part of a figured frieze.

[1] The Bowden House Community, who are the present owners and residents of the building, are a cohousing "group of families and individuals developing conscious, authentic and eco-mindful living within a culture of singing, working, eating, gardening, celebrating and learning together".