Description

LITTLEHAM
SS42SW
6/129 Middle Langdon
II
Farmhouse, now house. Late medieval origins; remodelled c.1640. Lower end,
to left, retains late medieval raised cruck and was probably built of
cob, before walling was rebuilt in uncoursed slatestone rubble; coursed
slatestone rubble to centre and right which is partly roughcast C20
slate cladding to left gable end. Gabled slate roof; stone lateral stack
to centre of front wall, finished in C20 stone and brick; external right
end stack. 3-unit plan, with through-passage in lower end. 2 storeys;
5-window range. Lower end to left has concrete lintel over C20 door,
tympanum arch over C20 two-light casement and timber lintels over similar
C20 casements on first floor. Flat stone arch and tympanum arch over
similar C20 easements to centre. Higher end to right has flat stone
arches over C20 above late C19 two-light casements; flat rendered arch
over C20 door. C20 extension to rear. Interior: through-passage has
hollow-chamfered and stopped joists, and is flanked by fine plank and
muntin partitions with ovolo mouldings, built c.1640 and restored c.l980.
Hall to right has cloam oven to blocked fireplace on front wall, round-
arched recess for scalding cream, and plane-moulded joists; C17 plank
door with strap hinges, set in ovolo-moulded architrave, to room on right
which has smaller cloam oven in fireplace. First floor; truncated late
medieval raised cruck over lower end. Staircase (now gone) to rear of
hall rose to first-floor lobby which has C17 panelling and 2 - panelled
doors; C17 plaster cornice in room to left above hall; room to right
above hall has fine C17 plaster frieze, which depicts running putti holding
roundels with scrolls and rosettes. Room to right has stop-chamfered
bressummer over fireplace and C17 plank door set in ovolo-moulded architrave
with jewel stops to position of former staircase. Roof over hall is
not fully visible, but appears to have smoke blackening, trenched purlins
and common rafters crossed and halved over ridge purlin set in notched
apexes. This is an unusual house because it is placed along a slope,
and its lower end (retaining a raised cruck) has the main through-entry
and is structurally distinct from and lower than the rest of the house
(rebuilt in about 1640). The chamber above the hall retains an exceptionally
fine and unusual C17 plaster frieze, and it is possible that the upper
end, which had its own staircase and a separate entry, was used for the
accommodation of elderly relatives.

Listing NGR: SS4368523072

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26465033

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

• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments