Description

KENN
SX 88 NE

1/137 Hill Farmhouse including adjoining
- cider house

GV II

Farmhouse. Late medieval origins, remodelled and probably extended in the circa
early C17. C18 cider house wing projecting at front left. Whitewashed rendered cob
and stone rubble ; thatched roof, gabled at left end, hipped at right end of main
block, half-hipped at front of wing ; projecting front lateral stack with a bread
oven, rear left projecting lateral stack, axial stack to right of centre with a
truncated shaft.
Plan: The present plan is single depth : a 3 room and cross passage arrangement at
the left end with a one or 2 room plan addition at the right end and a cider house
wing projecting to the front at the left end. The 3 room and cross passage
arrangement has a lower end heated by the rear lateral stack, the large hall heated
by the front lateral stack, the inner room heated (shaft of stack truncated). The
core of the house is late medieval, 2 very wide bays open to the roof timbers,
possibly with a 2-storey block at the right end. The medieval house probably ended
one room from the left where there is a thick crosswall. The house was pobably
floored with the stacks inserted in the early C17 and extended at the left end by one
room with a cross passage introduced at the left end of the medieval house. The
right end of the house (not inspected at time of survey) is slightly set back and
projects to the rear and is used as a separate dwelling.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4 window front with a C20 glazed porch to the
cross passge to the left. 1-, 2- and 3-light C19 or C20 timber casements with glazing
bars, second door on front at right. The rear elevation is buttressed and has timber
casement windows. The inner elevation of the cider house wing has one first floor
window, and a door and 3 small windows on the ground floor with a larger casement at
the extreme right.
Interior: Well-preserved interior. The cross passage has a plank and muntin screen
on the hall side with a small lobby adjoining it, adjacent to the hall, containing
the stair. The large hall has a fine open fireplace with a massive chamfered red
sandstone lintel and jambs and a blocked arch to the bread oven. 2 widely-spaced
chamfered stopped cross beams with exposed joists; plank and muntin screen at the
higher end, plastered-over on the hall side. The inner room has an open fireplace
with red sandstone jambs and a chamfered timber lintel. The ceiling of the lower end
room is higher than the rest of the house, the lintel of the fireplace is plastered-
over and the room is paved with red tiles. A probably C15 2-light timber window with
trefoil-headed lights, lights the stair. It is blocked externally and the ceiling of
the ground floor would cut across it - it may be one of the medieval hall windows in
situ, although is suprisingly close to the end wall of the medieval house.
Roof: 2 widely-spaced bays of side-pegged jointed cruck construction, beautifully -
carpentered with peaked collars mortised into the principals which are mortised at
the apex with a diagonally-set threaded ridge. The threaded purlins are chamfered.
The roof is complete with blackened thatch, rafters and battens. A closed truss
above the inner room/hall partition is not sooted on the hall side, and although the
roof construction beyond the partition was not seen in detail at time of survey the
roof timbers appear not to be sooted. The timbers over the lower end room are also
not sooted, the left gable end wall is stud construction in the gable.
The cider house wing has an apple loft and pegged A frame trusses, probably C18.
A handsome unspoiled traditional house with a fine medieval roof and good quality
interior detail. Group value with the threshing barn to the north east.

Listing NGR: SX8969886184

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389948

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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  Oxfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
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  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
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  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
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  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
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  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)