High House

High House is the collective name for a group of historic buildings in Purfleet, Thurrock, Essex, which was used as a farm for hundreds of years, with a Grade II listed house and barn, but with the addition of one of the best dovecotes in Southern England, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and notable for its nest box array. This property includes the house, coachman's cottage, chaise house, stable, granary, barn, workshop, cart sheds, dovecote, and inner and outer walled gardens. Known by many names in its past, the farm has been called Le Vineyards, because grape vines were grown on one of its south facing slopes. Its current name comes from the fact that it is a house high on the hill, which commands great views over the River Thames.

High House was originally built between 1552 and 1559 by Cecily Long to divide the Manor of West Thurrock, in Essex, equally between her two daughters. First built in timber and later replaced in brick in 1684, evidence remains of the Elizabethan timbers that are part of this early house in the fabric of the surviving 17th-century building. In fact, parts of the original panelling from the Queen Anne house were re-used in the later construction.

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