[1][2] The house was originally built in 1683–84 for Bonham Hayes (died 1720), a successful, yeoman farmer of the Cobham area, and his wife Elizabeth.

[3] The red-brick Kentish Yeoman's house is symmetrical, two storeys high, with sliding sash and dormer windows.

The house interiors date in part to 1684, and include a remarkably ornate Carolean plasterwork ceiling above the principal staircase.

Owletts became Herbert Baker's home in later life and he made numerous alterations including the addition of a porch and a wing on the north-west corner of the house.

[8] The house closed in 2011 for a £1 million refit, during which the collection of 900 objects and 1,400 books was carefully packed and stored off-site.