Ancient High House

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The Ancient High House is an Elizabethan town house in Stafford. It is the largest timber framed town house in England. The house was constructed in 1594 by the Dorrington family, from local oak. In 1642 Charles I stayed in the ancient high house, at the start of the English Civil War. It was further used as a prison for Royalists during the civil war.

The Sneyd family were here through the 17th century, and the structure was seriously weakened by renovations to the ground floor in the 19th century.

The Ancient High House is now largely a museum, although a Cancer Research charity shop occupies a small portion of the bottom floor of the house until its closure in June 2006. The house stands out from the surrounding 20th century structures, including its immediate neighbour - McDonalds.