Description

TQ 53 37 SPELDHURST THE WALKS, OLD GROOMBRIDGE

16/598 Nos 3, 4, 5 and 6 (formerly listed
20.10.54 as 5, 5A, 6, 7 and 8)

GV II*

4 cottages. Late C17 with late C18 or C19 laterations, little C20
modernisation. Timber-framed on coursed sandstone footings. Ground floor
front is weatherboarded and upper frame is hung with peg-tile. Rear is
variously weatherboarded and tile hung. Brick stacks and chimneyshafts. Peg-
tile roof.

Plan: Row of 4 cottages, once including some shops. The building faces south
and the cottages number 3-6 from left (west) to right. Cottages have
irregular plans. No 3 has the left 2-room section of the main block and the
one-room plan projecting to rear. No 4 has the adjoining one-room section of
the main block. An axial stack between Nos 3 and 4 serves back-to-back
fireplaces. No 5 has the next 2-room section of the main block. Its larger
right room has a rear lateral stack. No 6 has the right end one-room section
of the main block which has a gable-end stack and also the one-room plan rear
block.

The cottages have most irregular layouts involving flying freeholds, most
notably between No 5 and 6 where No 5 has the whole of thefirst floor to the
right end whilst No 6 has the ground floor and attics. This suggests that the
present cottages have been made by subdividing a larger house. However later
works have combined to obscure the layout of any earlier house. Thus it is
not clear whether there was one, 2 or 3 houses here. Nevertheless, it is
clear that the whole building, including the rear blocks was built in one
phase.

Cottages are 2 storeys with attics in the roofspace. Secondary lean-to
outshots to rear.

Exterior: Attractive and consistent overall 6-window front. All the first
floor windows and the dormers have C19 casements containing diamond panes of
leaded glass (some of the frames may be earlier). At ground floor level there
is, right of centre (No 5), a pair of canted bay windows, former shop windows
containing C20 glazing bars. Other windows are also C20 casements with
glazing bars and there is a shop window on the left end corner (No 3). Other
ground floor windows are C19 casements containing rectangular panes of leaded
glass. The doorway to No 5 is between the 2 canted bay windows and their
monopitch roof is carried across between the two as a hood. It contains a 4-
panel door, the panelling applied over a probably C18 2-flap plank door. All
the other front doorways contain 4-panel flush-faced doors, all with shallow
hoods on shaped timber brackets. No 3 has a pair of doors, one to the house
and another alongside to left into the former shop. Main roof is gable-ended
to right and half-hipped to left.

The rear of the building is equally attractive if less regular. Roof is
carried down continuously over the rear outshots containing a couple of hip-
roofed dormers. Again most of the windows are C19 or earlier casements
containing diamond or rectangular panes of lead glass. The outshots are
mostly built of coursed sandstone; so too are the ground floor sections of the
rear blocks although the eastern one (No 6) also includes Flemish bond red
bricks. Framing above is tile hung on the west one, weatherboarded on the
east one. Both are the same size with half-hipped roofs.

Interiors: Appear to be well-preserved although much of the carpentry is
hidden by later plaster. The carpentry which is exposed is plain but of
relatively large scantling. Beams and fireplace lintels are plain-chamfered
for the most part although the crossbeam in No 4 has scroll stops. Roof of
tie-beam trusses with staggered butt purlins. There is, throughout all 4
cottages, a great deal of old joinery detail, mostly plain but good
nonetheless. None of the staircases appear to be early.

This row of 4 cottages would benefit from a more detailed survey than was
available at the time of this survey in order to establish their development
in detail. Nevertheless it is clear that there is here a well-preserved late
C17/early C18 building. It is also the dominant building. on The Walks and
plays a very important visual role in the superlative group of buildings
associated with Groombridge Place (q.v.) which make up Old Groombridge,
probably the most unspoilt village group in Kent.

Listing NGR: TQ5300337721

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17547513

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

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability