Walking to Great Bower Farmhouse from The King’s Head — 4.0-Mile Circular via Molash
Great Bower Farmhouse — a Grade II* listed building 4.0 miles from The King's Head, Wye.
Great Bower Farmhouse is a red brick in Molash, 4.0 miles from The King’s Head. The NHLE entry singles out its hall-house. Historic England listed it in 1957.
Walking to Great Bower Farmhouse — 4.0 miles from Wye
Rated Challenging at 4.0 miles with about 140m of ascent. Allow around 160 minutes at a steady 3 mph pace; add 15–20 minutes for photographs at the building and a pause at a viewpoint.
Why Great Bower Farmhouse is Grade II* listed — the 1957 designation
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- Grade:
- II*
- Listed:
- 1957
- Last amended:
- 1984
- Parish:
- Molash
- District:
- Ashford
- Statutory address:
- Great Bower Farmhouse, Shottenden Road
- NHLE entry:
- 1071242 ↗
TR 05 SW MOLASH SHOTTENDEN ROAD (east side) 3/39 Great Bower Farmhouse (formerly listed as 27.11.57 Bower Farmhouse) II* Hall house. C15 and C16 and C19 wing. Timber framed on flint plinth, exposed to rear, entrance front clad in red brick and tile hung with plain tile roof. Two storeys and attic with skylight, hip and gablets and stacks to rear right and centre left. Four C19 sash windows on first floor, 3 on ground floor, and 4 panelled door in sloping porch to right. C19 red brick wing to right. Rear elevation: 2 projecting close-studded timber framed wings, central panel-framed hall, all exposed with plaster infill. Interior: wooden newel staircase with wall paintings of flowers and costumed figures dated c. 1560, fragments of painting elsewhere on beams and panelling. Fire- place of c 1500 with roll moulded jambs and shield and heart- leaved tongues in spandrels. Partially exposed carved satyr- like figure on otherwise bricked-over mantle in Hall. Crown post roof with tall (3 foot) octagonal moulded posts. Listing NGR: TR0340852939
Listing metadata — from the National Heritage List for England
- NHLE entry number:
- 1071242
- Heritage Category / Grade:
- Listed Building, Grade II*
- First listed:
- 1957
- Last amended:
- 1984
- Capture scale:
- 1:2500
- Grid reference (NGR):
- TR 03408 52939
- BNG Easting / Northing:
- 603,408 E / 152,939 N
- Coordinates (WGS84):
- 51.239359°N, 0.912655°E
- Parish:
- Molash
- District:
- Ashford
- Kent Downs landscape zone:
- Crundale and the Western Ridge
- Distance to North Downs Way:
- 3.42 miles
- Distance from The King's Head:
- 4.01 miles
- Walk duration (round trip):
- 160 minutes
- Elevation gain:
- 140 m
- Difficulty rating:
- Challenging
Architectural features at Great Bower Farmhouse
Keywords extracted from Historic England’s Official List Entry — each one is genuinely in the designation prose, not inferred.
Listing history of Great Bower Farmhouse
-
1957 · first listed
Added to the National Heritage List for England at Grade II*.
-
1984 · designation amended
The listing record was revised 27 years after the original designation.
The only Grade II* walk in Molash
Buildings listed in the 1950s near Wye
| Listing | Grade | Parish | Distance from Wye | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking to Wye Bridge from The King’s Head — 0.4-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.4 miles | 1952 |
| Walking to Spring Grove And Walled Garden Attached from The King’s Head — 0.8-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Wye with Hinxhill | 0.8 miles | 1952 |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of All Saints from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade I | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles | 1957 |
| Walking to Boughton Court from The King’s Head — 1.6-Mile Easy Stroll via North Downs Way | Grade II* | Boughton Aluph | 1.6 miles | 1952 |
| Grade I Heritage Walk: Walking to Church Of St Mary from The King’s Head — 1.7-Mile Easy Stroll via Brook | Grade I | Brook | 1.7 miles | 1957 |
The landscape around Great Bower Farmhouse — Crundale and the Western Ridge
West of Wye the dip-slope climbs towards Crundale, Godmersham and the high ground above the Great Stour. This is wooded downland — pockets of beech hanger and coppice hazel survive on the steeper flanks, interleaved with sheep pasture and long-fallow headlands managed for wild flowers. Country houses of the 17th and 18th centuries (Godmersham Park among them) sit in mature parkland where the hedgerow oaks are old enough to have been saplings when the house was built. Footpaths here are sunken lanes and green roads — often the North Downs Way itself, which threads along the scarp-top before dropping back towards the village.
Plan your visit
Every walk on this site starts and finishes at The King’s Head — Bridge Street, Wye, TN25 5EA.
Frequently asked about Great Bower Farmhouse
How far is Great Bower Farmhouse from The King's Head?
When did Historic England last amend the Great Bower Farmhouse listing?
Heritage data © Historic England NHLE · Trail & landscape data © Natural England (Open Government Licence) · Pub locations published under the Open Government Licence.