The Smiths were seldom resident, and the architect Charles Buckler wrote in 1843: "The mansion has been uninhabited for about 40 years but it is kept in good repair.

The walls, roof, parapet and chimneys are quite entire and not one of the rooms, tho' all are unfurnished, is made ye resceptical of rubbish, even dust is denied a resting place.

In 1968 the estate land, which consisted of several farms, was sold off and the hall itself purchased by Michael Ward-Thomas and his wife, the novelist Evelyn Anthony.

Very extensive major work and entirely contemporary repairs on the house and facilities were carried out by Mr Sandy Shand prior to the Ward-Thomas family returning to Horham Hall in 1982.

[8] All of the typical features of a hall house are still present: a screens passage, above the porch in the plan; a dais; a buttery and a pantry; a bay window (not essential, but very common).

The main staircase is at the dais end, and the Great Hall rises to the full height of the house, which otherwise has two storeys.