The Queens Head Public House, Nutfield, Surrey

Summary

Public house, the east wing of 1505 possibly originally a market hall or a surviving solar wing, the C17 west wing formerly a farmhouse or alehouse.

Description

Public house, the east wing possibly originally a market hall or a surviving solar wing, the west wing formerly a farmhouse or alehouse.

DATE: the northern two bays of the east wing have been dendro-dated to 1505, the west wing is mainly of mid-C17 date and the east wing was extended to the south in the C18 with a store also added on the east. In the later C19 the building underwent refurbishment and extensions were added on the northern side of the west wing.

MATERIALS: the northern two bays of the east wing are timber-framed, but the upper floor has been tile-hung. The west wing is built of local stone in squared blocks, but has been rendered in roughcast on the north side with applied close-studded timber framing above. The south side has two brick lean-to extensions, mainly painted. The roof is tiled with an off-central brick ridge chimneystack and external chimneystacks to the east and south.

PLAN: the earliest part of the building is the 1505 two-storey, two-bay structure at the east side. In the mid-C17 a two-storey, three-bay lobby entrance house was built alongside it on the west side and a chimney was added on the east side of the original east wing. In the C18 the east wing was extended by a bay to the south and a store room added at the north part of the east side. Probably a cellar was excavated under the east wing at this time. Finally, two lean-to extensions were added to the south side of the west wing in the C19.

EXTERIOR: the north or entrance front of the east wing has a rendered ground floor over a plinth, a tile-hung first floor and a gable with C19 applied close-studding and barge boards. There is a triple wooden casement to each floor and a wooden cellar door. The north front of the west wing has a pebble-dashed ground floor and the first floor has C19 applied timber framing with close-studding. The roof has an off-central C17 brick chimneystack and two C19 gabled dormers. The first floor has three C19 casement windows. The ground floor has a doorcase with a flat hood on brackets where it joins the east wing, then a projecting gabled extension with a patterned timber gable. A projecting gabled porch with barge-boards and built-in wooden seats covers a wide C18 door surround with a panelled door. There is a triple casement window further west. The west side has an exposed stone front with a gable and a C19 casement over a cambered doorcase which has been converted into a smaller casement window. The east side is tile-hung over render but part of a jowled post is visible on the first floor and an external chimneystack has a base of semi-dressed Merstham stone with stone quoins, concealed by the added store room. The south elevation has a rendered east wing with a hipped roof and a C19 casement. The west wing on this side is mainly concealed by C19 lean-tos but internally a small original leaded-light window with wooden diamond mullions is visible on this wall.

INTERIOR: the 1505 east wing's north and central bays have exposed jowled posts to ground and first floors and one of the western posts is weathered. The central posts retain mortise joints for large braces. The main posts extend below the present floor level, which was raised when the cellar was added beneath. On the first floor the middle posts have been cut back and no longer have jowls. There is a crown post over the central truss, with two up-braces to the collar purlin and two down-braces to the tie beam. The C18 north bay of the east wing has partitions of thin scantling on the first floor. The west wing ground floor open fireplaces have been opened out to make a through passage but the old brickwork is visible above. Both the western bay (former parlour) and central bay (former hall) have chamfered spine beams and floor joists with lambs' tongue stops. In the eastern bay (former service room) some beams run at 90 degrees to the spine beam at the eastern edge, probably the position of an earlier staircase from ground to first floor. There are winder stairs from the first to attic floor and the attic floor of the west wing retains two plank doors with iron pintle hinges. The west wing has a clasped side purlin roof with angled and vertical queen struts and straight wind braces. There are some carpenter's assembly marks and a rush-light taper burn mark.

History

The two timber-framed bays of the east wing with a crownpost roof have been dendrochronologically dated to 1505. At that date the Manor of Norbury, which included Nutfield, was owned by Elizabeth Twynyho who lived in Gloucestershire and this structure was built on the village green. There is speculation that this structure may have originated as a market hall.

The west wing was attached to this structure about the middle of the C17, comprising a three bay lobby entrance house with two back-to-back fireplaces.

In 1773 Elizabeth Brooke occupied the King's Head (the name of the establishment seems to have changed with the monarch) and also owed rent of five shillings per annum for a wheelwright's shop upon the waste near the King's Head.

The south front of the building is shown in a watercolour by the artist John Hassell of 1825 and at that date it is shown as a stone building with end quoins, a roof possibly clad in Horsham stone slabs, tripartite casement windows, a wooden gabled porch to the west wing and an additional entrance facing west in the east wing. At that date the adjoining wheelwright's shop is also shown.

In 1843 Nutfield Tithe Map describes it as a House, Buildings and Garden, owned by Thomas Budgen and occupied by John Brown. The little green in front is also shown on the map.

In 1849 it is mentioned in the will of Anthony Harman who had brought the Crown, Nutfield in 1803, was the owner of a brewery in High Street Croydon from 1798 and appeared to own about thirty houses.

The building is shown on the 1870 25 inch Ordnance Survey Map, and subsequent editions, as the Queen's Head Public House with its current footprint and a number of outbuildings.

In the late C19 the building had tile-hanging added to the first floor of the east wing, applied close-studding was added to the east gable and upper floor of the west wing, a gabled dormer was added as was a projecting gabled extension and a gabled porch with decorative framing to the west wing.

Reasons for Listing

The Queens Head public house is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Date: dendrochronological dating has shown that the east wing was erected circa 1505 and the west wing is C17 not C16;
* Building type: the east wing was possibly originally a market hall or a solar wing, the west wing was formerly a farmhouse or alehouse;
* Interiors: original internal features include a crownpost, an early wooden mullioned window, winder stairs and plank doors.

External Links

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