Description

TQ 64 SE BRENCHLEY BRENCHLEY ROAD (off)

6/37 Studmore
(Formerly listed as Worms
20.10.54 Lodge)
II*

House. Probably early C15, the hall altered and extended in the early C20,
late C20 rear addition. The early block is framed construction, underbuilt in
unusually large bricks laid in Flemish bond, the first floor tile-hung; the
wall-framing surviving complete on the right (east) end. The additions are
brick and tile-hung; peg-tile roofs; brick stacks.

Plan: The house faces south. The original arrangement was an open hall house
of high status with a 2-bay open hall in the centre with moulded beams at
either end. The inner end, to the right (east), is jettied. The putative
cross passage and service end to the left (west) of the hall have been
rebuilt, initially in the C17 with the house extended beyond in the early C20.
An axial stack with back-to-back fireplaces inserted in the hall has a date of
1662 on the hall lintel but the flooring of the hall is almost certainly
earlier and the date may refer to the replacement of a framed stack by a brick
one. C20 additions include a rear left (north west) block under a 2-span roof
and a 1930s porch outshut alongside. Late C20 rear right (north east) wing.

Exterior: 2 storeys and attic. Roof hipped at the left end, gabletted and
hipped at the right end. Axial stack with tall staggered triple shafts with
corbelled brick cornices. Asymmetrical 5-window front, the left hand window
in the C20 addition. C20 half-glazed front door into the addition to left of
centre. 1-, 2- and 3-light C20 iron-framed casements with diamond leaded
panes. 2 attic dormers with hipped roofs. The right (east) end is jettied,
the jetty on plain brackets, with tension braces to both the ground and first
floors and evidence of a former window in the first floor framing. The rear
elevation has a 1930s porch with a plank and cover strip front door.

Interior: High quality carpentry from the medieval phase survives. The
richly-moulded beams at either end of the medieval hall are intact. Later
boarding on the soffits conceals the evidence of original doorways. The hall
has probably C16 exposed joists and an open fireplace, the lintel dated 1662.
The right end room preserves joists of massive scantling with evidence of a
former stair. The present stair rises from the hall against the rear wall of
the right end room. The lower end moulded beam marking the left end of the
original hall, is sited close to the fireplace of the left hand principal
room. To its left (west) the joists are replaced. The wall framing is well-
preserved with massive wall posts with flared jowls and step stops on the
principal timbers. The hall tie beam is arch braced, one of the braces partly
removed for a doorway, the braces massive and fixed with 10 pegs with a
chamfered moulding.

Roof: Crown post roof construction survives from the inserted stack to the
right end of the range. The hall crown post is octagonal with a moulded
capital and base with 4-way up braces. The right end crown post is plain in a
closed partition heavily sooted on the hall side. Beyond the axial stack
there is a clasped purlin roof construction, perhaps dating from 1662.

A high quality house of medieval origins.

Listing NGR: TQ6681641824

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17547639

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

• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Churches: An Architectural Guide (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  London 6: Westminster (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England): Westminster v. 6
• 
  Cornwall (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)