Description

SS 90 NW THORVERTON
5/102 Chilton
-
II
House. Circa early C16 origins, remodelled in 2 phases in the late C16/early C17,
C20 re-roofing and renovations. Whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings,
part of rear wall repaired in stone ; asbestos slate roof, gabled at ends (formerly
thatched); end stacks (right end projecting with set-offs and a semi-circular bread
oven), axial stack to left of centre, all with modern brick shafts.
Plan and Development. A large house with a late medieval core and overall L plan.
The main range is a 3 room and through passage arrangement, hall stack backing on to
the former passage with a surprisingly small lower end room to the left. A smaller
block with a lower roofline, the first floor brick construction adjoins at the left
end. Inner room not inspected but evidently C17 or earlier and used as a kitchen at
one time, small front service wing at right angles to inner room. The house is said
to have smoke-blackened jointed cruck roof timbers but the roof was not inspected at
time of survey and the extent of the medieval timbers was not established. A
relieving arch above the hall fireplace extends above the timbers supporting the
first floor, indicating that the chimney stack was inserted into the open hall before
the hall was floored. The scale of the main range and the unusually short lower end
suggest the possibility that the present building is a truncated version of what may
have been a substantial courtyard arrangement.
Exterior 2 storeys. Asymmetrical front with front door to left of centre into
putative passage (opposed rear door) ; additional doorway into right hand room of
main range. Various casement windows, mostly C20 but including some earlier sliding
sashes. The front wing has a probably C15 timber window with intersecting glazing
bars re-sited from another house. The rear elevation has a bee bole and the rear
right wall appears to be a C19 reconstruction in stone with brick dressings.
Interior The lower end partition wall of the passage has been removed. The hall is
very complete with a large open fireplace with ashlar masonry chamfered volcanic
jambs and a massive chamfered oak lintel below a relieving arch partly concealed by
the ceilinhg beams. The insertion of the hall stack involved the removal of part of
a late medieval plank and muntin screen at the higher end, the surviving screen has
muntins chamfered on the passage side and a doorway to the passage with a cranked
lintel. The first floor above the hall is supported on a massive chamfered cross
beam with exposed joists. Inner room not inspected but said to have massive ceiling
beams and an open fireplace. Interior of wing not inspected but said formerly to
have had an open gully for water: it may have been a buttery and is likely to be C17
or earlier. Roofspace not inspected but said to retain smoke-blackened jointed
crucks below new timbering.
A substantial house of medieval origins, Chilton was a Domesday Manor. Documentation
in DRO refers to John Luteral, Knight, Lord of Chileton in 1340 and the Manor became
known as Chylton Lutterell by 1564 in a grant to John Prowse of Bollame, Clothyer.
By 1636 it is described as Chilton Prowse.

Listing NGR: SS9225605769

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26533070

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

• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)