History

A house of 3 rooms in line was built of timber-framing (now only partly visible/surviving). It is unusual in this area for its timber-framing (although parts of two farm buildings and an outshut are or were timber-framed). J T Smith dates it to the late C16. The plan is of P Smith type A, with lateral chimney, and originally comprised an entry passage with a kitchen or parlour to its left, and a two-bay hall with lateral chimney and parlour beyond. The kitchen and passage were originally two-storeyed, the other rooms have had their upper storey inserted. The kitchen/parlour has the remains of a blocked original stair with stone treads on RH of the chimney. The original partitions are built of chamfered heavy plank and muntin construction.

In the 17th century the hall and inner parlour were both floored over and upheld on moulded wooden brackets (sadly defaced). A timber-framed outshut may be C17. In the 18th century the staircase was built. Other parts of the existing outshut and the single-storey extension at right angles are of 18th-19th century date. The house was overhauled in about 1900, when the outer walls were extensively repaired or concealed behind render, the windows replaced and the chimneys all repaired in a hard red brick.

Exterior

The front faces SW and is of one storey with semi-attics, with roughcast walls and slate roofs. At the rear the timber-framing is partly visible, with squarish panels and one small diagonal brace between corner-post and roof- plate. At the rear, the outshuts are continuous and have artificial stone-slate roofs. There is one modern dormer window in the main roof. The large stone chimneystack at the back of the hall is heavily repaired.

Interior

The LH (NW) room has a chamfered ceiling beam with pyramidal stops. It is entered through a fine original partition with a pair of doorways with arched heads (one blocked) retaining one original door also with arched head. The original hall is entered through a similar original partition, containing one of an original pair of very wide arched openings (the other was in a part now removed). The staircase is early or mid 18th-century with turned oak balusters. The hall ceiling has been inserted, with longitudinal beams supported on brackets (all defaced) against the parlour and upon a cross-beam supported on posts. The inner room is partitioned off as before, and has timber-framing visible in its rear wall. There are chamfered ceiling beams inserted on edge upon brackets, one retaining its quadruple roll mouldings. The upper storey of the framing alluded to is said to have a scratch-moulded window (blocked).

Reasons for Listing

The house is a fine example of a sub-mediaeval house with rooms in line and good early/original features, and unusual for its timber framing.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q17741235

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

• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]