Description

TL 64 SE HELIONS BUMPSTEAD WATER LANE
2/35 Boblow House (formerly
21/6/62 listed under General)
II*

Building of uncertain purpose, probably a hunting lodge, C16, altered in C19.
Timber framed with large red brick chimney stacks forming gables, other walls
clad with painted brick, C19, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. 3 bays
aligned approximately N-S, the middle bay shorter than the others. At N end,
single-storey extension of 2 parallel ranges with hipped roofs, C19. 2 storeys
and attics. E elevation, glazed door with bracketed gabled hood, C19. 2
windows on each floor, under alteration at time of survey, October 1983. At the
N end of the original building a large brick chimney stack has hearths at both
floors, at first floor level a dummy window, mullioned and transomed to form 6
'lights', all hollow-moulded, with ovolo-moulded pediment, all in brick. At
attic floor a rectangular window between the 2 flues, jambs and sill hollow-
moulded, arch repaired. 3 octagonal shafts, of which the middle one is a dummy,
with C19 brick head. At the S end a similar chimney stack, but incorporating a
timber-framed garderobe at first-floor level, no dummy window or dummy shaft,
but with the attic window hollow-moulded all round. Axial beams plain-
chamfered, joists of horizontal section unchamfered. S ground floor hearth,
brick depressed arch, hollow-moulded, mutilated. N ground floor hearth has
ovolo-moulded brick jambs, mantel beam mutilated, moulded plaster frieze with
vertical ridges. S first floor hearth, off-centre because of garderobe, brick
depressed arch, roll-moulded with recessed spandrels. N first floor hearth, has
brick depressed arch, chamfered, with recessed spandrels. To each side, semi-
octagonal attached shafts with moulded bases. Moulded plaster frieze with
vertical ridges and ovolo-moulded cornice. Transverse and axial beams above
first floor, plain-chamfered, joists plastered to soffits. Clasped purlin roof
with gauging holes in rafters. 2 dormers in W pitch of roof, either inserted or
enlarged. This unusual building is sited on top of a rounded hill, with long
views in all directions. The concentration of ornamental features at the north
end suggests that the original approach was from the N, but the present access
is from the S, facing the garderobe. The site is moated. The building is too
small to be a house, of the level of fashion indicated by its internal and
external features, and there is no indication of other parts demolished. The
most probable explanation is that it was built as a hunting lodge, to oversee a
deer park and to provide short-term accommodation for a hunting party. RCHM 4.

Listing NGR: TL6530940515

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17557116

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

• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Central Leinster: Kildare, Laois and Offaly (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)