Summary

Cottage, probably of late C16 origin, altered in the mid- to later C17, extended in the C18 and renovated in the later C20.

Description

Cottage, probably of late C16 origin, altered in the mid- to later C17, extended in the C18 and renovated in the later C20.

MATERIALS: timber frame, red brown and red brick, stone rubble and coursed stone, and a plain tile roof.

PLAN: a two-cell, one-and-a-half storey cottage, aligned roughly east-west, originally with a smoke bay against the eastern gable wall, later altered to create a brick end stack, with a winder stair against its northern face. The cottage was later extended at the western end by a single, single-storey bay beneath a hipped roof, which has an inserted floor creating an upper floor room.

EXTERIOR: the timber frame survives on the upper floor, above the mid rail, infilled in stone rubble, while the ground floor walls are predominantly in stone rubble. The northern elevation has a robust timber frame, some bays with arch bracing, and with some slender scantling studs. There is no visible evidence of original window openings, both main bays having later C20 two- and three-light timber casements. In the eastern bay, the door opening has a narrow brick jamb, suggesting a likely C17 date, and a later C20 ledge and plank door. There are no window openings in the first floor frame, but a pair of inserted dormers above. The eastern gable wall has a tall plinth, also in stone, with stone above. The arch-braced frame on the first floor is in-filled in rubble, flanked by panels of red brick, with narrow red-brown brick in the apex which also forms the base of the stack. Above the gable, the stack is rebuilt in red brick. On the southern elevation the upper storey is similarly timber-framed; windows are again later C20 timber casements, those on the first floor are small; there is a later C20 door in the central bay. The originally single-storey western bay is of lighter timber framing and coursed stone rubble and has a deep hipped roof beneath a small gablet. The entrance on the northern elevation has a later C20 ledge and plank door, and casement windows on the south elevation and dormer window on the end wall are, as elsewhere, later C20 timber casements.

INTERIOR: the arch-braced timber frame survives to full height in the former western external wall, now internal, and in the partition wall between the two principal rooms. Some elements of the timber frame in the north wall have been renewed in the later C20. On the ground floor the eastern bay has a brick stack of narrow 1.5 inch (4 cm) red brown brick and of standard sized red brick, with a chamfered timber bressumer with a run out stops, while the timber structure of the smoke bay survives on the first floor. On the southern side of the ground floor fireplace opening is a carefully constructed and restored oven, lined in vertical brick and with a tile base. A winder stair rises against the northern face of the stack, within the smoke bay, the first floor door head chamfered into the wall plate. The ground floor axial beam in the eastern bay is roughly square in section, with 1.5 inch (4 cm) chamfers with lambs' tongue stops, suggesting a mid to later C17 date for the ceiling. There is a pair of pintle hinges, now horizontal, in the mid-rail of the northern wall, suggesting reuse.

The timber frame in the former western external wall, now internal, is weathered on its external face. The ground floor has diamond mortises indicating mullions of a former window, and the sole plate and rail above, the latter probably reused, are deeply grooved. The western face of the internal partition between the bays has the cut stub of a former, horizontally-laid axial beam.

It has a wind-braced, side purlin roof, although the purlins are only visible in the gable wall; the roofspace is enclosed above the collars, where wattle and daub partitions remain in place, although many of the rafters are machine cut and of relatively recent date. The uneven ceiling below suggests that the original lath and plaster ceiling may remain place.

Internal doors were constructed in the late C20, and their door furniture was acquired from the Weald and Downland Museum. Tile floors, using split roof tiles, were also renewed in the later C20.

History

Keeper's Cottage is an isolated settlement within the Devil's Punchbowl that is characteristic of woodland encroachment in the C16. It is served by a spring. Originally a two-cell building, it was altered and extended, probably in the mid-to-later C17 and C18. It is shown on the earliest 6 inch (1:2500) Ordnance Survey map of 1872 and on subsequent maps, with its current rectangular footprint unchanged.

It was renovated in the later C20, before 1990, renewing elements of the roof structure and damaged sections of timber frame, and installing new external doors and double-glazed timber casements. Since 1990 minor internal changes have been made to create a bathroom, floor tiles have been laid and new internal doors fitted.

It is subject of a Surrey Domestic Buildings Research Group report (not seen).

Reasons for Listing

Keeper's Cottage, probably of late C16 origin, altered in the mid- to later C17, extended in the C18 and renovated in the later C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a C16 predominantly timber-framed cottage, with rare surviving elements of a timber smoke bay, and early, probably C17 brick in the gable wall relating to the construction of the brick stack during C17 improvements;
* Plan form: a two-cell, one-and-a-half storey cottage, extended in the C18, originally with a smoke bay against the eastern gable wall, later altered to create a brick end stack, with a winder stair against its northern face;
* Historic interest: an isolated settlement within the Devil's Punchbowl that is characteristic of woodland encroachment in the C16 and early C17.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26677637

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.

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