The name Samarès is an old French word meaning salt-marsh, and much of the low-lying surrounding areas are or were coastal marshes.

The oldest part of the house is the undercroft thought to be a crypt dedicated to Saint Martha, dating from the 11th or 12th century.

The manor house is a H-plan building with a number of Tudor arched windows on the ground floor.

[2] This substantial work included re-claiming the salt marsh area near the manor.

On the 12 June 2009, the manor's grounds were used by the BBC as a location for filming an episode of Antiques Roadshow.