A historic farmstead comprising the farmhouse and working buildings to the west of Rowhedge Road (and to the north of Birch Brook), East Donyland, and 600m to the NW of St Lawrence's Church, Rowhedge. The farmstead is marked on Chapman & Andre's 1777 map, labelled as 'Battles Wick'.<1>

The OS 1:2500 Epoch 1 (1874-87) shows an E to W range of farm buildings, turning S. to form two sides to a yard (i.e. the N. and E. sides), with a detached building in the SW corner. A pond is located to the S., and the farmhouse is situated S. of the pond. By Epoch 2 (1897-1904) the S. side has been filled with a range of buildings, to the N. of the pond, with the farmstead now open only on the W. side.

With the addition of several new buildings, the farmstead remains little altered on Epoch 3 (1922-23) and Epoch 4 (1936-40). The farmstead remains little altered, with little change to the historic form.

David Stenning undertook a site visit in February 2017 identified the farmhouse as a possible hunting lodge or standing (non-domestic function), that dates from c.1500, or very early 16th century, although it has had alterations and additions. He suggested that the current living room is the earliest part of the building, and was probably constructed as a kitchen (or similar function), with the eastern part of the building subsequently added on (probably soon after). This is based on the following evidence, taken together: presence of floor joist joints (in the current living room) with bare-faced soffit tenon with diminished haunches; Evidence to suggest inserted and pegged floor on one half only (in the current living room); Use of high quality carpentry, with close studwork (that is expensive); use of massive tie beams (to carry a huge weight); evidence for a grand entrance stairwell, with an impressive serpentine brace; evidence for a substantial, double-pegged crown-post roof; evidence for huge window openings, not found in a domestic building. Stenning also suggests there is evidence for a possible garde-robe, suggested by the narrow door in an upstairs bedroom.<2>

Leigh Alston undertook a site visit in May 2017 to supplement an assessment made by David Stenning, to inform an application for Listing (Historic England case no. 1441357). He describes the farmhouse as a 'weatherboarded and largely timber-framed farmhouse is a building of considerable historic interest that evolved in a highly abnormal manner. It consists of five principal structures, all of which were shown on the tithe map of 1839: a small late-17th century central hall of 1.5 storeys is flanked on the east by a much larger parlour of two storeys that dates from the early-16th century and on the west by a single storeyed kitchen of the late-16th or early-17th century. Single-storeyed brick service wings were added to the front and rear of the kitchen in the 18th or early-19th century. The parlour preserves a number of impressive Tudor features including an intact crown-post roof (currently inaccessible but seen during recent roofing work), two doorways with four-centred arches, expensive close-studding and a rare enclosed stair in a dedicated narrow bay. Much of its framing is hidden by later plaster on the ground floor (which may have protected early decoration), but it appears to have formed the parlour cross-wing of a high-status demolished hall to the rear (south) and originally contained a single room on each floor.' 'The single-storied western structure was initially a detached kitchen behind the Tudor house and retains a completely intact and heavily soot-encrusted roof with clasped-purlins and wind-braces. Detached kitchens of this kind were once common but are now notoriously rare. By the end of the 17th century the house had been converted into a more modest farmhouse, reflecting the demise of Wivenhoe Hall, by demolishing the earlier hall and inserting a small replacement between the back wall of the parlour and the kitchen.' Alston's report includes an annotated copy of Stenning's interpretative drawing.<3>

The threshing barn to the north-east of the house is a mid-19th century example of standard form.<3>