Summary

Detached cottage probably of late C18.

Description

A detached cottage probably of late C18, extended to the north in the late C20 with some interior remodelling. Damaged by fire in 2019.

MATERIALS: timber-framed with weatherboard cladding; the west wall is rendered with exposed timber framing. The roofs are tile-covered. The shouldered stack to the south, and end stack to the east, are mostly of red brick.

PLAN: rectangular on plan, with the north gable end facing the road and the principal front (in 2021) to the east. Although the current interior plan-form appears largely to be of the C20, elements of the historic plan remain. Square on plan originally, the main ground floor room was heated by the inglenook fireplace and had a winder staircase leading to the upper floor rooms. Part of this staircase survives against the original north external wall in the north-east corner of this room.

EXTERIOR: a two-storey cottage, with oversailing, hipped roofs and a double-pile roof arrangement at the east elevation.

The north, east and south elevations have modern weatherboard cladding and variously arranged boarded-up windows, believed to be late-C20. The north elevation has two, projecting late-C20 dormer windows with tiled roofs at the attic level. A porch has been added at the east elevation with windows on either side and three windows on the first floor; a late-C20 modern stack lies at the point where the earlier core and north extension join. Off-centre at the south elevation is a substantial shouldered chimney stack, wide at the base to accommodate the inglenook within, with a collapsed stack above. The brickwork is thin and comprises red brick with occasional dark purple brick headers, generally laid in Flemish bond but mixed indicating later patching and rebuilds. To the left (west) of the stack is a boarded-up doorway.

The west elevation has exposed timber framing in four bays, comprising a sole plate, midrail and storey posts of moderate scantling, and modest close studwork of thin scantling with straight diagonal bracing. Near to the centre is a boarded entrance, flanked by bow windows, with two windows above.

INTERIOR: the ground floor is of concrete construction; it is understood that sole plates remain but are rotten. The timber framing to the external walls, internal partition walls consisting of studs and diagonal bracing, and the floor frames remain, the latter comprising bridging beams and joists, but are evidently greatly charred in places, particularly at the centre of the building. The original front wall (in 2021 an internal partition wall between the historic core and the north extension) retains some original framing and weatherboarding (white-washed) near to the remnant of the winder staircase in the main ground floor room. The framing is modest, with simple, nailed jointing. In this room is the inglenook fireplace with a timber bressumer but with evidence of much brick repair and rebuilding.

At the first floor, the wall plate appears to survive as do the timber framed partition walls, some without charring, but are crudely finished and of inconsistent scantling, incorporating many reused timbers. The ceilings have bridging beams and small section rafters. The ceiling levels vary, one room at wall plate level and another at collar level.

The roof structure has partially collapsed, and has evidently suffered fire damage, but where observed comprises a ridge piece with hip rafters and common rafters, some are modern replacements. At the centre of the building there is a charred, substantial modern king-post truss.

The surviving doors throughout are modern, planked types.

History

The current List entry describes Hornash as a C18, two-storey, weatherboarded cottage with a hipped roof and applied timber framing.

Hornash does not seem to be depicted on the 1769 Andrews, Drury and Herbert map but is shown on the Mudge 1797 Survey for the first OS mapping. The building probably dates to the late C18 or early C19 from structural evidence, although it may be of the mid-C18. The cottage is shown on the 1839 Shadoxhurst Parish Tithe Map and on the 1:2500 Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1872 as a building with a square plan and a wide external, off-centre chimney stack at the rear (south) elevation. Sale documents form 1918 confirm Hornash as a farm cottage with a sitting room, kitchen scullery and four bedrooms. An historic photograph, thought to be of the same date, shows the weatherboarded cottage with a symetrical west-facing elevation and a stack on the north elevation; the latter was removed when the late-C20, north-facing, two storey extension was built.

The cottage retained this footprint to the mid-C20, but the OS map of 1972 appears to show a single storey extension built across most of the front (north) of the building. In 1989, after the building was listed, permission was given to heighten the north extension to two storeys. The roof was remodelled in this location at the same time to allow dormer windows to be inserted, in addition to general refurbishment of the cottage including the replacement of fenestration and the weatherboard cladding. An entrance porch has been added at the east elevation.

Internally, the earliest timber frame incorporates reused, crudely finished timbers nailed in place and it is reasonable to assume that the building was always modest. The historic plan-form of the cottage can only be conjectured but it is possible that when constructed it had a two-room plan, the front elevation probably to the west, with the main ground floor room heated by the inglenook, and access to the upper floors by a winder staircase at the north-east corner of that room. The rooms to the rear (east) may be historic additions, but this cannot be proven. The earliest plan-form has been remodelled at some point in the building’s history, perhaps before the building was listed, with the stairs repositioned, and rooms reconfigured to provide additional facilities. The late-C20 additions to the front (north) led to the north external wall becoming an internal partition or cross wall. Further phases of refurbishment and repair are attested by the apparent rebuilding of the inglenook fireplace in places and the modern softwood timber components incorporated into the roof structure, in addition to at least one C20 truss.

In 2019, the building suffered two fires causing widespread damage particularly at the centre of the building. The fires were put out but led to additional loss of the building’s historic fabric. A hole in the roof allowed further water ingress prior to a tarpaulin cover being applied; the south chimney stack has collapsed onto the roof since.

The details below describe the building in its current (2021) state; references to charring reflect a visual observation and are not a comment on the extent or severity of fire damage. These matters are addressed in professional structural reports of July 2019, March 2020 and November 2020 (updated November 2021).

Reasons for Listing

Hornash, Shadoxhurst, a cottage of the C18, altered in the C20, and fire damaged in the C21, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* despite fire damage, the building retains a significant proportion of original fabric including: the wall frames: the floor frame, former external wall and remnant of the winder staircase, and adjacent preserved weatherboard within the ground floor principal room: the floor frames and cross walls to the first floor; the wall plate, and elements of the roof structure. Externally the base of the chimney stack, and the corresponding inglenook fireplace to the interior, are features of note;
* although remodelled over its lifetime, enough remains of the early plan-form to understand the original configuration of the cottage.

Historic interest:

* as a cottage built towards the end of the vernacular tradition which illustrates well the housing of working people of the period.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26326546

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.

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