At the top of a hill on a dead-end Woonsocket street is a sturdy, Tudor-style house with secrets waiting to be disclosed.

Beneath a gabled roof at 20 Dudley St., an intricately carved piece of wood arches above four square windows. Who carved the decorative piece?

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And what of the thick bricks that cover most of the 86-year-old house's exterior? Local lore has it that many of the bricks, imported from Italy, were originally intended for a monastery built in nearby Cumberland. The monastery, which was mostly granite, was destroyed by a 1950 fire.

Inside, there are heavy metal door handles with large center stars, which beg explanation. "They look like they could have come from a church," said Joanne Thayer, who bought the house with her husband William five years ago. "We wonder if the artisans who built the monastery could have shared their talents" here.

The mysteries only add to the charm of the seven-room house, which has a slate roof and two stucco-covered dormers. The property was once a prominent local landmark known affectionately as the "castle on the hill."

Before 1990, the house commanded a 20-acre lot. Most of the land has been sold off, leaving the house on just over an acre of mostly wooded land.

Visitors enter through an arched doorway to a small foyer with mosaic tile, which also covers the floor in the sunken living room.

The living room has a hand-plastered ceiling, bay window and a brick fireplace, with a nicely carved wood surround made by the Thayers' son, Paul. The fireplace is framed by a brick wall built as an anniversary present for a previous owner.

A heavy, wood folding door leads to a small dining area with oak flooring. The room and a nearby bedroom, accessed through French doors, offer peaceful views of tall oaks and maple trees that cover the hillside behind the house.

The kitchen spans several decades. Cabinets date to the 1960s. Vinyl flooring and some appliances, such as a five-burner cooktop, were added in the last few years.

An 800-square-foot cabin that's part of the property can be seen from a window above the sink.

There's a half-bath with new plumbing near the kitchen and access to a three-season porch. The porch has slate flooring and hilltop views of a quiet neighborhood populated with ranches, Capes and other modest homes.

A winding stairway leads to three second-floor bedrooms and a full bath.

The bedrooms have wood flooring and distinctive ceiling angles. A pentagonal-shaped entrance to one leads to long closets on both sides of steps to a room with a peaked ceiling.

Paneled walls lead to a partially finished basement with access to a one-car garage.

The basement includes a laundry room and houses a four-year-old, gas-fired furnace.

The house has 1,936 square feet of living space. It's connected to city water and sewer services.

The cabin is built above a two-car garage and a separate storage area. It needs some upgrades, including a new roof, but has recently housed as many as 80 people during parties and includes a workshop.

A 20-by-40-foot stone patio behind the cabin is perfect for summer entertaining.

The grounds are well-landscaped, with rhododendrons, azaleas and other plants along stone walls in front of the house and in back. Yard space is limited, but wildlife is abundant in the woods that cover much of the lot.

With their two children now grown, the Thayers are selling so they can move into renovated mill space in the city.

The lot is separated from a nearby corporate park by dense woodland that gives a feeling of seclusion to the property.

Public and private schools are within walking distance. Route 99 is about a mile away.

The property was listed in June and is offered at $329,900. Real estate taxes last year were $2,800. An open house will be held tomorrow from 1 to 4p.m. Katherine Duggan, of Essex Properties, in Woonsocket, has the listing: (401) 765-7773.