Description

WOOLFARDISWORTHY
SS 80 NW
6/289 East Densham Farmhouse
-
26.13.65
II

Farmhouse. C16 and C17, thoroughly renovated and partly rebuilt circa 1970.
Plastered cob on rubble footings; rubble stacks with restored rubble chimney
shafts; slate roof, thatched roof until circa 1970. T-shaped building with main
block facing south-east and crosswing projecting front and rear on left (south-west)
end. Main block comprises hall, through passage and service room of C16 hall house;
the service room on the right (north-east) end. (Secondary room beyond service room
until demolished circa 1970). 2-room parlour crosswing at upper end of hall. End
stack to service room, projecting front lateral stack to hall and axial stack to
crosswing. 2 storeys. Irregular 3-window front to main block of circa 1970
replacement casements with glazing bars. Also circa 1970 door to passage with
contemporary flat-roofed hood. Windows to front of crosswing and those on the other
sides are also similar circa 1970 casements with glazing bars but most seem to
occupy old window embrasures. Stacks retain heavily repointed rubble chimney
shafts. Roofs are now gable ended. NMR pre-renovation photographs show hip to
front of crosswing and a now-demolished 1-room extension to service end.
Modernised interior. Service room end completely rebuilt circa 1970 but elsewhere
older fabric remains. Lower side of passage is a rubble crosswall which contains a
C16 oak shoulder-headed arch. Hall has a restored rubble fireplace with replacement
oak lintel and 3-bay ceiling carried on late C16-early C17 chamfered and step-
stopped crossbeams. The beam towards the lower end was moved from the service room
circa 1970 and set here to replace the internal jetty created by the insertion of a
chamber over the passage in an open hall. Roof structure of main block completely
replaced circa 1970 replacing jointed cruck trusses. Early roof of crosswing is
said to remain but is inaccessible. NMR photograph shows a jointed cruck truss with
unchamfered arch-bracing and windbraces. This roof is said to be smoke-blackened
suggesting a late C15-early C16 date and a parlour wing open to the roof and heated
by an open hearth fire.
Densham was the Domesday Manor of Donevoldeshame.

Listing NGR: SS8209509380

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26543250

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 Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey