1 White Cottages, Crowborough, East Sussex

Summary

House, built in the late C16 or early C17, with later additions to the sides and rear.

Description

House, built in the late C16 or early C17, with later additions to the sides and rear.

MATERIALS: the principal structure is a timber-box frame, with painted-brick infill as well as some earlier wattle-and-daub panels, and there are hung tiles to the front elevation and dormer window. The lean-tos are constructed of stone and brick. The building sits under a tile roof which is hipped to the south and half hipped to the north, with brick stacks.

PLAN: the detached building stands at the north end of a sloping garden plot. It has a rectangular footprint with the rear (east) elevation built against a bank. The original two-room lobby-entrance plan is legible, with later lean-to extensions to the side elevation and to the rear, where the current staircase is located.

EXTERIOR: a two storey building, the front (west) elevation has an exposed ground-floor timber box frame with painted brick infill, and hung tiles to the first floor. The central entrance door, which is beneath a conical porch roof and a six-pane first-floor casement window, is flanked by a pair of two-storey bow windows with conical roofs. To the north and south are stone lean-tos with catslide tile roofs. This south end includes casement windows and a brick stack; above the lean-to is the half-hipped end of the house, with exposed first-floor box frame and a central casement window. The southern stone lean-to is partially clad in weatherboarding and includes a side door. To the rear is the brick lean-to with a catslide roof with dormer window; it incorporates further casement windows and a side entrance in its south return. The house is topped by a tile roof which is hipped to the south and half-hipped to the north. Near the centre of the roof ridge is the brick stack with stepped detailing. A small fragment of stone wall attached to the front (west) elevation is not included in the listing*.

INTERIOR: the front (west) door opens into a lobby located on one side of a substantial central brick chimney stack; within the roof the stack is partially rendered. Either side of the central stack are fireplaces on both floors; all of the fireplaces have been subject to some degree of infilling and contain mid-C20 brick fire surrounds. Internally there is evidence of early carpentry including the surviving box frame, various phases of floorboards and plank doors, some exposed ceiling joists and a chamfered bressumer over the north facing fireplace with a visible lamb-tongue stop at one end. A ground-floor timber archway has been inserted in the original rear wall to provide access to the rear lean-to; there are also internal windows within the same partitions. There is an additional brick fireplace within the northern lean-to. The early staircase, most likely located to the side of the main stack, has been removed; the straight flight stair in the rear lean-to is later, and an opening has been made at first-floor level to provide access to the rooms above; the wall plate in this location shows evidence of open mortises where the original infill has been removed. Further timber-framing is visible within the two first-floor rooms, including the jowled posts. Within the roof spaces of the rear northern catslide roofs there is evidence of the timber frame with daub infill in the walls of the principal historic range. The structure of the tie beam roof is visible within the first-floor ceiling and attic space, and retains many historic timbers, including ties, collars, purlins and rafters.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the section of wall attached to the south side of the building is not of special architectural or historic interest; however, any works which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require LBC and this is a matter for the LPA to determine.

History

The detached timber-framed dwelling dates from the late C16 or early C17, built on the edge of Crowborough Common in Wealden, East Sussex. The steep pitch of the roof and hipped ends indicate the building was originally thatched and later re-covered in tile. The timber frame incorporates jowled posts, visible at first-floor level, of at least two forms. These include Gunstock jowls which in this area typically date to around the late C16, as well as another type of fully formed jowl. The original form of the building is a two-room, lobby-entrance house. It has been extended with lean-tos added to the rear and side elevations. There is evidence of roughhewn timbers in the rear and western additions which appear to date to the mid-C18 or earlier. The current stairs are located in the rear extension; anecdotal information suggests the original stairway were located next to the central stack and within the entrance lobby. The footprint of the house appears to have changed very little since 1839, when it appears on the Rotherfield Tithe Map. In the late C19 or early C20, a pair of two-storey bow windows was added to the front elevation. Internally, more recent alterations include the addition of later finishes to the walls and the infilling of fireplaces.

Reasons for Listing

1 White Cottages, Crowborough, Wealden, East Sussex is listed at Grade II for the
following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* the principal two-room lobby-entry plan phase of construction remains clearly legible;
* it retains a good amount of the early timber box-framing structure and carpentry, including jowled posts and roof timbers, and wattle and daub panels.

Historic interest:

* it is a good example of a modest pre-1700 vernacular building displaying historic construction techniques characteristic of the region.

External Links

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