Description

STANTON LACY

1943-1/0/10010 STANTON LACY
23-SEP-08 5
The Old Post Office

GV II
Timber-framed farmhouse, probably later C17

MATERIALS: Oak timber frame; local silt or mudstone used for plinth and lower parts of chimney stacks; C19 brick used for rebuilds of upper chimney stacks and infilling of framing at right-hand end of building.

PLAN: Rectangular, single room deep, modern extension to rear.

EXTERIOR: The Old Post Office stands on a T-junction, looking towards the C18 and earlier Manor House (Grade II) on the road leading to the village's Saxon church. The Old Post Office is a well-built timber framed building, probably of the later C17, which was modified in the mid C19, in the mid C20, and substantially refurbished and extended in 2008. It comprises a single range parallel to the road of one-and-a-half storeys, with a massive main stack (stone below, C19 brick above) attached to the rear centre and a corner stack (also stone below, C19 brick above) at the rear-left corner; this was probably inserted early in the house's history. Much of the original heavy, square, framing survives to the front, to the left gable, and between the rear-left corner and the central stack. The right-hand bay was either added or completely rebuilt in the early to mid C19 with low, lightly timber-framed gables to front and rear; its rear wall was replaced in the mid C20, and its gable wall was renewed in 2008. That it may be a replacement is suggested by its underpinning by the stone sill which also underpins the rest of the building. Many of the roof timbers have been replaced in the C19 and later, but some heavy chamfered purlins, angle braces, and common rafters survive from the original build.

A large extension has been added to the rear. This is not of special interest.

INTERIOR: There are now five bays, of irregular width, here numbered 1-5, leading from left (north) to right. To the ground floor bay 1 has a corner fireplace. A C19 stud wall separates it from bay 2, the staircase hall, which has a mid C19 stair with decorative spindles, which dog-legs to the upper floor. Elements of the original truss and partition separate bay 2 from bay 3 which is the main room, with a ceiling quartered by heavy chamfered spine and cross beams and retaining its original heavy chamfered joists. Much of its rear wall is taken up with the base of the chimney stack, largely rebuilt in brick in the C19 and later. The studding between bays 3 and 4, and between 4 and 5 has been replaced with breeze block. Beneath bays 1 and 2 there is an original cellar, stone walled and with a timber-framed partition between the two bays. A cupboard has large, probably C17, iron hinges to its C19 door.

Upstairs the original later C17 trusses (with heavy tie beams, angle bracing, queen struts and jowls visible to the tops of the main posts) and framing survives between bays 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 4 and 5. The division between bays 2 and 3 was almost wholly reworked when the staircase was replaced in the mid C19. The framing of the north gable end has had a large window inserted in the C18 or C19 alongside the corner fireplace.

HISTORY: None known, other than that the property did at some stage serve as the village post office. Stanton Lacy has always been an entirely rural community reliant on farming. The house's timber frame is a substantial one, and the building may fairly be characterised as a farmhouse rather than a cottage. It is therefore likely that it was built for and occupied by one of the village farmers in the C17, a time when rural society in Shropshire was fast becoming more clearly stratified, with successful farmers acquiring larger farms and better houses while labourers and cottagers struggled with a relatively impoverished existence and poor accommodation.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION: The Old Post Office, Stanton Lacy, is listed, for the following principal reasons:
* It is a substantial timber-framed building, probably of the second half of the C17, typical of the region, and retaining a significant proportion of its original fabric.
* It has group value with nearby listed buildings.

Reasons for Listing

The Old Post Office, Stanton Lacy, is designated, for the following principal reasons:
* It is a substantial timber-framed building, probably of the second half of the C17, and typical of the region and retaining a significant proportion of its original fabric
* It has group value with nearby listed buildings.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672046

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

• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Renovating Old Houses: Bringing New Life to Vintage Homes (For Pros By Pros)
• 
  Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)