Description

MORETONHAMPSTEAD SLONCOMBE
SX 78 NW
1/170 Hatherley
-
23.8.55
GV II*

House, formerly farmhouse. Early C16 with later C16/early C17 modifications, and
addition, refronted and modernised in early C19. Rendered granite rubble walls.
Thatched roof with gable ends. Right end gable chimney stack and axial stack are
constructed of granite blocks with brick shafts. Left-hand gable stack is rendered
brick.
Originally 3-room-and-through-passage plan with hall and lower room at least open
to the roof with central hearth to hall. Ceiled probably late C16/early C17 and
hall stack inserted backing onto passage. Gable end stack added to inner room.
Circa early C17 outshut added at rear of hall. Newel staircase adjoining it in
projection. In circa early C19 front door of passage was blocked and staircase
inserted in that position. Passage created between hall and inner room and C19
framed staircase inserted in place of usual stair. Hall and inner room modernised
at this stage, lower room had stack inserted at gable end. House refronted in C19
Gothic style.
2 storeys. Symmetrical 2-window section with central doorway to right-hand side of
front with asymmetrical 2-window section to left. Windows on right-hand side are
early C19 2-light casements with depressed arched heads and decorative glazing with
stained glass at the top. Early C19 6-panelled door with 4 glazed lights above,
under arched canopy porch supported on 4 octagonal posts with moulded capitals and
square bases. In the left-hand section on the ground floor roughly at the centre
is a single light mid-late C19 casement with small panes and above it to the left
is a similar 2-light window. To its right is a late C16/early C17 3-light wood
mullioned window with chamfered mullions and old leaded panes. Early C19 iron
railings run along front of house shortly in front of it. At the right gable end
on the 1st floor is a 2-light granite mullion window with rebated surround,
chamfered mullion and old leaded panes. At the rear is a central single storey
projection under a continuation of the thatched roof which houses the staircase on
the left and has on the left side a rounded edge with a small single light window
in an arched granite surround. Small single light casement on the front wall lights
the outshut and on its right-hand wall is a 4-light wood mullioned window with
slender chamfered mullions, unglazed which has had later glazed window inserted
behind. Immediately to the right of the outshut is the rear doorway to the former
passage which has a circa early C17 ovolo moulded wooden frame and contemporary
wide heavy studded plank door with trident ended strap hinges. To the right are
C19 and C20 2-and 3-light casements on ground and 1st floor.
Tall granite rubble garden wall extends from left-hand (north-east) gable end to
road junction and then extends east for approximately 20 metres incorporating
pointed granite arched doorway.
Good interior containing features from the 2 main builds of the house. Much good
early C19 joinery in hall and inner room. Both front ground floor windows have
panelled surrounds, seats and shutters. Inner room fireplace has wooden
chimneypiece with decorative Victorian arched opening grate. Staircase at rear of
inserted passage has curved newels and stick balusters. Hall has boxed in beam, 6-
panel door to passage and fireplace with plain wooden chimneypiece and early C19
iron grate. On its rear wall are 2 wall cupboards with glazed doors at the top
with rounded heads and with ogee-shaped heads below. According to owner when
plaster was stripped from the walls earlier panelling was revealed. The 2 doors
either side of the fireplace were introduced by the present owners. The back of
the chimneybreast which formerly faced onto the passage is typically constructed of
dressed granite blocks. The lower room has a heavy plastered cross beam with
chamfers. Apparently it formerly had 2 hearths, one large one to take the range
and one smaller one, now a cupboard, which people could sit around, this would be
fairly typical of the C19. On the lst floor the ceilings are high and the feet of
very substantial trusses are visible almost up to collar height. Above the inner
room the rear truss is a jointed cruck. Threaded purlins. Access to the roof
space is difficult but above the lower end at least the timbers appear to be smoke-
blackened. All the original roof trusses survive.
This house is interesting not only for its good C16 and C17 features and the
survival of the roof but for the high quality updating which it received in the
early C19 which is unusual in a relatively unimportant farmhouse.

Listing NGR: SX7372786246

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17534775

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

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  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
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