The village or hamlet comprises around 20 dwellings and of these up to 10 are designated listed buildings including Tilley Manor,[1] Tilley Farm and Brook Cottage;[2] all three are timber-framed and have their origins in the Medieval and early Post Medieval periods; Tilley Farm and Manor are of the classic cross-wing vernacular and clearly very early in date, probably 13th/14th century.

Despite the wealth of medieval and post-medieval timber-framed buildings, Tilley does not possess a church.

[citation needed] The hamlet appears to be divided into two clusters; the main settlement centred on the medieval buildings and to the east, a peripheral area lying close to the railway which comprise buildings that date from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Between 2014 and 2018 the people of the village obtained a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to undertake a dendrochronology project which investigated up to 35 historic timber-framed buildings including 11 Listed Buildings.

The results of this survey were published in a book - The Tilley Timber Project (2018).