Description

TL 71 NE TERLING BRAINTREE ROAD
(south side)

2/108 Ridley Hall

- II

House. C.1400, altered in C18 and C20. Mainly timber framed and plastered,
with some painted brick, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. 2-bay hall
aligned E-W with axial stack in W bay. 2-bay service crosswing to E, with
external stack to N. Crosswing extended to S by one bay in late C16, with end
wall of brick and external stack beyond. Large C20 extension to W of hall. 2
storeys. E elevation, 3-window range of C20 casements. C20 door. The N stack
is of C16 origin, the upper part rebuilt in the C18. The S stack is C17/C18.
Roof fully hipped. In the hall, at the E end, blocked twin service doorways
with chamfered jambs and 4-centred heads, in chamfered surrounds, and to each
side display bracing trenched into close studding, with jewel-headed nails at
the crossings. In NE corner, blocked doorway with plain head, formerly leading
to a stair to the chamber over the service rooms. At W end, C20 grate with
chamfered mantel beam with lamb's tongue stops retained from late C16 fireplace.
inserted floor comprising chamfered axial beam with plain joists of horizontal
section, some renewed. Heavily smoke-blackened rafters trenched for collars on
the E side (towards the 'high end'), but collars, collar-purlin and crownpost
missing. In the service crosswing, central partition removed, C20 grate in C16
stack. Wide braces to cambered tiebeam, roof structure much altered by
conversion to a hip in C18. The C16 S extension has close studding, plain
doorheads, a blocked large window to the W (probably of oriel form originally),
and a clasped purlin roof with arched wind-bracing, altered to a hip in the C18.
This house was originally a manor house of high status, with a hall of unusually
large span and height, having a cross-entry at the E end and the front door to
the S of it, now blocked. The parlour/solar end has been demolished and the W
end of the hall closed with a brick wall, with the C20 extension beyond. In the
C16 the service crosswing was extended to the N. In the C18 this crosswing
became the reception front, a central entrance/stair hall was made, with a room
to each side, and the roof was hipped, to produce the illusion of symmetry, and
the hall became a rear service wing. In the C19 it became a large tenement, and
was altered to its present form c.1960.

Listing NGR: TL7559815362

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26622205

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

• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Gloucestershire 1: The Cotswolds: Cotswolds Pt. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas