Several clothiers built their houses in the centre of Painswick and not next to their mills. Court house was built about 1604 for Thomas Gardner. The house stands on what is thought to have been the site of a former Manor House where the Manor Courts were held. Thomas Gardner sold the house to Dr John Searman, the Diocesan Chancellor who added the south-west wing. The north wing was built in the 1930s. Inside the house there is 17th century panneling; the carved stone urn surmounts a gatepost in the grounds of Dover House which was probably built for a member of the Loveday family of clothiers. The house dates from about 1720 and is considered to be a perfect example of a small Early Georgian Cotswold House.