Summary

A cottage dating from the late C16 or C17, with substantial additions in the C20.

Description

MATERIALS:
The early ranges are timber-framed, and the later additions constructed in modern materials, with some re-used timber applied decoratively to the exterior. The roofs are covered in plain clay tile, and the stacks are constructed from brick.

PLAN:
The timber-framed building consists of a short main range orientated east-west, with its main elevation to the north, together with a short, gabled cross-wing to its west end. The fireplace is situated in the main range, against the wall of the cross-wing. The timber-framed building has been extended by additions in two phases to the east, forming a further cross-wing and garage; and a forward extension of the cross-wing. A garden room is set against the rear wall of the main range.

EXTERIOR:
The majority of the building is of one-and-a-half storeys, with single-storey extensions to either end. The early building has small, square timber framing with diagonal tension braces to the main range and cross-wing, which is gabled to the front and rear. The main elevation is to the north. There is a small gabled dormer to the main range. The stack is sited centrally, at the junction of the main range and cross-wing. The late-C20 extension to the east mirrors the form of the original building, with a long bay adjacent to the main range of the timber-framed building with a gabled dormer, central stack and a gabled cross-wing at the east end. There is a single-storey lean-to garage at the eastern end, adjacent to the modern cross-wing, and a single-storey gabled range running northwards from the ground floor of the timber-framed cross-wing. There is a glazed porch in the re-entrant angle of the modern sections. The later extensions are all rendered, as is the infill in the timber-framed ranges. The fenestration is irregular; the windows are mainly C20 multi-paned examples in a variety of sizes and styles. The west side of the building has exposed square framing except where it has been removed to add a small square bay window to the ground floor. The rear elevation has exposed square framing partly enclosed within the late C20 garden room, which is mainly glazed. The fenestration is similar to that in the main elevation. The late C20 extensions match the original building in scale and pattern, but are wholly C20 in character.

INTERIOR:
The original building has a single large room to the ground floor of the main range, with a very large fireplace with timber lintel over. The ground floor of the cross-wing is divided into two rooms. Timber-framed partitions survive throughout the building, and the ground-floor rooms have chamfered and stopped beams and chamfered ceiling joists, a number of which are more recent replacements. The stair is modern, and it is not clear whether or not it is in its original position, against the north gable-end wall of the cross-wing. The first floor has a single large room within the main range, and the cross-wing is divided into three areas. The roof trusses have tie-beams, collars and twin purlins, and square framing to the internal and end trusses. The truss across the middle of the cross-wing has a low doorway with a shallow segmental-arched opening cut into lower edge of the tie beam. The doorway between the main range and the cross-wing is higher, breaking up through the tie beam. The rooms within the late C20 extensions are all C20 in character.

The C20 extensions are not of special interest.

History

Little Rising appears to have originated in the late C16 or C17 as a cottage consisting of a short main range with a cross-wing to the west end of the main range. The building appears on the historic Ordnance Survey map editions published in 1887, 1905 and 1925 in its original form, with a detached outbuilding to the east. In the late C20 the building underwent extensive refurbishment and extension, which was complete by 1986. It was extended by the addition of a two-storey cross-wing to the east end, with a single-storey garage later added to its east; and a single-storey extension was attached to the north gable end of the original cross-wing. A garden room was added to the rear, and a small bay window introduced to the ground floor of the cross wing on its west side. The building was listed at Grade II, on the basis of an external inspection, in February 1990, though at the time of inspection, the extensions had not yet been made; they are understood to have been added between the time the building was viewed for listing, and the listing being made statutory.

Reasons for Listing

* Architectural interest: the core of a building is a late C16 or C17 timber-framed house
* Intactness: the timber-framed building survives almost completely intact, with internal and external framing and the roof timbers almost entirely complete
* Alteration: despite the large-scale later additions, which have more than doubled the size of the building, the timber-framed building remains largely unaltered

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26286673

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

• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)