Crown Hill Cottage, Selling, Kent

Description

SELLING

1786/1/10003 PERRYWOOD
27-NOV-08 Crown Hill Cottage

II
House. Late-C16 or early-C17 with C19 and C20 additions and renovated in the 1930s.

MATERIALS: A timberframed building on brick plinth, now concealed beneath a layer of render. Its steeply pitched roof, formerly thatched is now covered in asbestos slates and has an off central brick chimneystack, the upper part restored in 1930s brickwork. The irregularly-spaced windows are 1930s wooden casements.

PLAN: Two cell house of one storey and attics, jettied at the west end with unequally sized rooms to each floor and lobby entrance to south of chimneystack. Original access may have been to the north of the chimneystack. The original plan has been modified by C19 and C20 outshots added to the west, north and east.

EXTERIOR: The south or entrance front has two mid-C20 wooden casements with louvred shutters to the first floor, a taller similar window to both the left side ground floor and the western outshot and a projecting C20 central porch with flat wooden weatherhood on brackets and plank door. The east end elevation has one C20 casement to the first floor, a taller window in the C20 western outshot and a C20 glazed door. The north elevation has a flat-roofed C20 dormer with casement and two taller casement windows in the rear outshot.

INTERIOR: The oak timber frame with some chestnut studs is visible internally. The south wall retains much of the frame with some curved downbraces and corner and off central jowled posts to the first floor. The original west side wall has a jetty supported on curved wooden brackets and the first floor frame has curved down braces. The ground floor wall has been removed but the end ceiling beam retains the sockets for a diamond mullioned window and similar sockets are visible in the wallplate. The original east end wall has also had the ground floor frame removed but the supporting beam retains diamond-shaped sockets of an original window. The first floor of the east wall is intact with curved braces to the corner posts. The original external north wall retains one curved downbrace and part of another on the ground floor. The first floor frame is little altered and there are traces of external weatherboarding. The southern part of the western outshot retains some C19 rough wall framing and rafters. The remainder of the outshots are of C20 softwood construction.

Both ground floor rooms have unchamfered floor joists, formerly covered by lath and plaster ceilings. The eastern room has a fireplace of mid-C20 date but earlier fireplaces may survive beneath in both rooms. Access to the first floor is by a mid-C20 straight flight staircase in the south-eastern corner. The eatern first floor room retains wide original oak floorboards. The top part of the chimneystack has visible mid-C20 brickwork. The lower part has been rendered but from its dimensions is likely to contain earlier brickwork. There is a framed internal partition to the west of the chimneystack which formerly had a lath and plaster infill. The first floor was ceiled over, probably in the C19 to give greater headroom, but the ceiling had been taken down and the roof structure of pegged rafters and collars was visible. Secondary softwood roof timbers were added in the mid-C20 when the thatched roof was replaced.

HISTORY: The 1872-3 Ordnance Survey map shows a building with rectangular plan in a large triangular plot with entrance to the south, an outshot to the west and a small attached structure to the north-west. By the 1897 map there is an outshot shown to the north-east and the building forms an L-shape. The building underwent extensive refurbishment in the 1930s, which included the covering of the timber frame in render, replacement of the thatched roof, replacement of the upper part of the chimneystack and refenestration. Internally the fireplaces were modified, a new staircase inserted and some four panelled doors. In 2008 the interior wall coverings and first floor ceilings were stripped out to reveal the timber frame.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
* The major part of the building was constructed in the late-C16 or early-C17 and the timber frame including the roof structure is substantially intact;
* The original plan form of one storey and attics and two cell structure with unequal-sized rooms on each floor, west jetty and lobby entrance survives despite the later construction of outshots on three sides;
* A significant amount of original fabric survives including the timber frame, floor joists, first floor internal partition, original floor boards and the lower part of the chimneystack;
* Sockets for three original diamond mullioned windows survive;
* The building has group value with the Rose and Crown PH (Grade II).

Reasons for Listing

Crown Hill Cottage, Selling is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* The major part of the building was constructed in the late-C16 or early-C17 and the timber frame including the roof structure is substantially intact;
* The plan form of one storey and attics two cell structure with unequal sized rooms on each floor, west jetty and lobby entrance survives despite the later construction of outshots on three sides;
* A significant amount of original fabric survives including the timber frame, floor joists, first floor partition, original floor boards and the lower part of the chimneystack;
* Sockets for three original diamond mullioned windows survive;
* The building additionally has group value with the Rose and Crown PH (Grade II).

External Links

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British Listed Buildings

History in Structure

Crown Hill Cottage

A Grade II Listed Building in Selling, Kent

Coordinates

Description

Reasons for Listing

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