Description

GITTISHAM GITTISHAM, (north side)
SY 19 NW

7/162 Parkers West and East
-

GV II

House, divided into 2. Circa 1700-1720, possibly a thorough rebuilding of an
earlier house, early C20 re-roofing and some refenestration. Hand-made brick laid
in Flemish bond with blue headers, some flint rubble to rear left; tiled roof,
half-hipped at ends; axial stack to left of centre, 2 front lateral stacks serving
corner fireplaces, all with handmade brick shafts with some C20 brick repair.
Plan: The basic plan is a single depth block, 3 rooms wide with the principal
entrance into a wide passage to right of centre with a fine dog-leg stair dividing
into 2 flights at the rear of the passage. Principal parlour to the right, kitchen
to the left, small parlour/dining room in the centre. The kitchen has a heated
half-basement. A number of features suggest that both the exterior and the plan
underwent alterations either during or shortly after the early C18. Evidence of
alteration to the stair hall was found during renovations (information from Mr and
Mrs Fallows) and the partition between the kitchen and centre room has been altered
at least twice. There are several blocked windows on the rear wall and right
return, some blocked with early C18 bricks. The single depth plan, general layout
and survival of flint and some cob walling suggests the possibility that the house
was built on the ground plan of an earlier house.
Exterior: Rather eccentric with an irregularly stepped eaves line, partly 2
storeys, partly 3 storeys, partly 2 storey and attic. It seems likely that the C18
building was 3 storeys and attic and the existing profile is the result of
Edwardian alteration in a Vernacular Revival style. C18 front door to right of
centre with 6 fielded panels and a pretty circa 1830s Gothick overlight with cusped
glazing bars. C18 horizontal doorhood on shaped brackets. The three right hand
ground floor windows are C18 12-pane sashes with segmental brick arches and brick
dripmoulds (Parkers East). To the left (Parkers West) there is a C20 timber French
window with glazing bars flanked on the right by an C18 8-pane sash with a
dripmould; a 12-pane C18 sash to the left with a flat brick arch; C20 casement to
ground floor left. The first floor of Parkers East has a 12-pane C18 sash to the
left and 3 2-light transomed early C20 timber windws with glazing bars. Parkers
West has a first floor 3-light early C20 casement and an 8-pane C18 sash, the eaves
line stepping up above the windows. The 2nd floor (Parkers East only) has a 3-
light casement with glazing bars and 2 early C20 casements, one an attic dormer.
The right return has blocked windows to both the ground and first floor, a late
C18/early C19 16-pane sash to the second floor and a similar 12-pane ground floor
sash which may have been converted from a doorway. The rear elevation has 4
blocked rear windows, a first floor 30-pane sash, a 16-pane window lighting the
stair and a C20 dormer. Parkers West has a 2-light casement. A C19 or early C20
brick outshut extends along part of the rear wall. The left return has C20
transomed timber windows and an earlier window lighting the half-basement.
Interior: High status features of the early C18. There is evidence that the main
stair (in Parkers East) is secondary but it is circa 1730, a dog-leg dividing into
2 flights with balustrades. It has an open string with stylized ornament, very
slender turned balusters, clustered balusters for newels and a ramped, flat-topped,
moulded handrail. Both ground floor rooms in Parkers East have decorated plaster
ceilings, the right hand room with a central oval motif, a rose, and scallops at
the corners; the left hand room with a rectangular motif decorated with trails of
naturalistic leaves: oak, ivy etc. and a moulded cornice. C18 doors survive on the
ground and first floor, some with original hinges. The left hand end of the house
(Parkers West), is plainer, the stack serves both the former kitchen and the half-
basement which has a bread oven.
Roof: Early C20.
A modestly-scaled gentry house of the early C18 with an attractive use of hand-made
brick and good quality interior features. It is in a prominent position in the
village, on rising ground and a foil to the vernacular thatched buildings in the
village centre.

Listing NGR: SY1352598453

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26500359

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

• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  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)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey