Description

CRESSING WITHAM ROAD
TL 71 NE (east side)

4/75 Granary/stables block
21.12.67 70 metres south of
Cressing Temple
Farmhouse (formerly
listed as Outbuilding
S of Cressing Temple
House)

GV II

Granary/stables block, converted to court house. Late C16, altered in 1623 and
C19. Timber framed, plastered and weatherboarded, with some exposed imitation
framing and C19 brick nogging, base wall of red brick in English bond; roofed
with handmade red plain tiles. 10 bays aligned NE-SW. 2 storeys. C19
single-storey wing of red brick with tiled roof extending to SE from NE end.
The NW elevation has on the ground floor 2 resited C18 windows with wrought iron
casements and diamond leading, and 4 brick vents, and on the first floor 3
slatted wooden vents. 2 feature gables; that to the right has early C17 carved
bargeboards with conventional ornament, a carved finial and cage pendant, and in
the middle a horizontal panel with similar carving and the date 1623,
representing the construction of this gable; that to the left is of C19
construction, and has C19 similar detail. The SE elevation has halved stable
doors, and on the first floor 6 small casements. Some shaped sprockets. Jowled
posts with hewn ledges supporting the binding beams. Curved tension braces
trenched inside heavy studding. Face-halved and bladed scarfs in the
wallplates. 2 longitudinal bridging beams between each pair of binding beams,
jointed to them with central tenons with soffit spurs and housed shoulders.
Joists of horizontal section, jointed to the bridging beams with soffit tenons
and diminished haunches. Diamond mortices and shutter grooves for unglazed
windows. Grooves for original infill of wattle and daub, now missing. Straight
tiebeams (some with wattle grooves and empty mortices for studding) with arched
braces. Joggled butt-purlin roof. 4 bays of the upper floor at the SW end have
been converted for use as a court room in 1623. The feature gable bearing this
date was inserted to light the 'high' end. It has a window of early glazed
type, with 3 ovolo mullions with moulded glazing fillets still bearing traces of
putty, and holes for intermediate saddle bars; it is blocked externally. That
it is a late insertion is proved by the empty seatings for removed rafters. The
wattle grooves and empty mortices in tiebeams which are now freestanding,
conflicting with the arched braces, indicate that there has been some rebuilding
of the roof. This is the largest granary in Essex, indicating the great extent
and productivity of the Cressing Temple estate. The frame and jointing are
illustrated in C.A. Hewett, The Development of Carpentry, 1200-1700, an Essex
Study, 1969, 158, 184, 191 and 200. Dendrochronological analysis of one core,
location not stated, indicates construction 'after 1575' (Fletcher, Tapper and
Morris, Vernacular Architecture 16, 1985, 41). It is indicated on the OS map as
Old Court Room.

Listing NGR: TL7976118797

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26416954

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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