One of the original stone corbels remaining at the base of the replacement roof.

The louvre over the central hearth was removed from the great hall ceiling in the 1950s and is now on display on the upper floor in the room beyond the solar in the E wing. Its original position is still apparent.

The beautiful fan vault ceiling of the entrance porch. 'The spaces between the ribbing of the fans are filled alternately with an anchor and a slipped trefoil bearing the initials W.S. The presence of the anchor places the completion of the porch after the year 1523, when Lord Southampton [ie, Fitzwilliam] became High Admiral, while it is not likely to be later than 1530. In the spandrels and bosses, we find Queen Catherine's pomegranate badge, which a favourite of the King would not have used after the divorce question took definite shape'
(Tipping, 'Cowdray' 93--4).

An angel boss from the hall roof, ca. 1959.

View of the hall roof looking N.

'The restored mid 15th-century roof...is divided by trusses with moulded and embattled cambered tie-beams into three bays of which the N. and S. bays are each divided into two subsidiary bays. The tie-beams are carved on the vertical faces with roses and stylised leaf-ornament; they have mid 19th-century braces below forming four-centred arches with traceried spandrels and springing from short wall-posts supported on 19th-century stone angel-corbels. The trusses and two subsidiary pairs of principals have arch-braced collar-beams and king-posts with curved struts. Under the sub-principals are small false hammer-beams carved as angels holding crowned shields charged with the initial letters of the patrons and Foundresses of the College...they have been restored but are for the most part original. The whole roof was coloured in 1875 on the basis of traces of original colouring said to have survived; the gilded lead stars are original.'