The house, along with the garden walls, has been designated as a Grade I listed building,[1] and is closely associated with the adjacent Church of St Andrew.

[4] Mells Manor was purportedly procured by Thomas Horner, who had been entrusted by Richard Whiting, the last Abbot of Glastonbury, who had concealed several deeds as a gift to King Henry VIII to curry his favour against nationalising the Church of England and seizing church lands.

This act is referenced in the popular nursery rhyme Little Jack Horner.

An alternative and more likely explanation from Horner's descendants is that the manor was bought from the King's Commissioners in 1543.

[5] Many sites on the river and its tributaries, owned by the Horners were leased to James Fussell and his family to establish water-powered mills for the production of iron tools.