[1] Mentioned in the Doomsday Book and owned by Roger de Lacy at the time,[2] the house has undergone considerable alteration since its 11th-century beginnings with only the moat remaining.

[3] The house seems to have started out as a modest courtyard dwelling, but later (some time before 1423) was made grander by the creation of the great hall and remodelling of the solar (with barrel vaulted timber roof).

[4] The 17th-century parts of the house on the east elevation include a great chamber on the first floor which contains a pair of one of the world's earliest surviving flying (or floating) mullion windows.

After a period of dereliction during the 18th and 19th centuries the house was bought by Samuel Simpson Hayward, the father of George Simpson-Hayward, who made alterations to the building.

The renovation at the start of the 20th century demolished the south wing and southern courtyard and constructed a rock garden and extensive greenhouses, some of which remain today.