Red-brick house built in the 17th century for Bonham and Elizabeth Hayes, prosperous Kentish farmers.The two-storey house has a hipped roof with dormer windows peering over the parapet added in 1754. Tall chimneys, adorned with Bonham and Elizabeth's initials, rise from the steeply pitched roof. The interior was completed in 1684 and the date is marked on the superb plaster ceiling over the staircase. The opulent plasterwork was probably the work of Italian craftsmen. The formal design has wreaths with realistic, three-dimensional flowers and fruit surrounding the roundels carrying the date and the initials of Bonham and Elizabeth Hayes. When Owletts passed to the Baker family in 1794 the casements had already been replaced by sash windows. Luckily much of the wide timber flooring survived. Thomas Henry Baker had a family of ten children and so added the north wing. He also transformed the farmyard into a garden and built the new stables. The architect Sir Herbert Baker was born at Owletts in 1862. Sir Herbert was largely responsible for the historic atmosphere of the present interiors at Owletts. He collected or commissioned much of the furniture and the house is full of reminders of his travels and talents. Sir Herbert stayed at the house until his death in 1946. He left Owletts to National Trust. Sir Herbert invoked the help of Gertrude Jekyll in laying out the garden. The bird bath was formed from the Corinthian capitals from the old Bank of England. The broad lawns and tennis courts reflect that this is a family house.