From An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West (1916)
Hempstead Hall, house and moat, 1¾ m. E.N.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys with attics; the walls are of weather-boarded timber-framing; the roofs are tiled. It was built c. 1580, probably on an H-shaped plan with the cross-wings at the E. and W. ends. The E. wing has been rebuilt and has a large modern addition, and the W. wing has an 18th-century extension. In the middle block is a large original chimney-stack with two sunk panels, a moulded capping and four octagonal shafts, each with a moulded base and oversailing top. Inside the building, on the ground floor in the E. wing, is some early 17th-century panelling, re-set; and on the first floor is a panelled door of the same date. In the original chimney-stack in the middle block is a fireplace, probably original, with a three-centred head and chamfered jambs, now plastered and painted. In one room is a stop-chamfered ceiling-beam.
The Moat, S. of the present house, encloses an approximately L-shaped island, and is crossed on the N. side by a wooden bridge which retains some old curved braces.
