Description

TM 07 SW WATTISFIELD THE STREET (EAST SIDE)

3/98 Park Farmhouse

GV II

Former farmhouse. C15, with alterations of circa 1600. Timber-framed; C20
render, pargetted in panels; thatch. 1½ storeys, 3-cell form, with a small
projecting C18 single-storey wing to the right of the front. The main range
in 6 bays has an internal chimney-stack with a plain rebuilt red brick shaft;
2 eyebrow dormers; C20 casement windows with square leaded panes and a
reinstated 6-light hall window. On the upper floor, 2 small 2-light mullioned
windows, and an original 3-light window with diamond mullions on the rear
wall. C20 boarded entrance door. Inside, the former 2-bay open hall retains
its smoke-blackened crown-post roof: the crown-post, braced 4 ways at the
head, with moulded cap and square chamfered shaft, has had its base and part
of the supporting tie-beam cut away for the insertion of a doorway when the
hall was ceiled over. Long arched braces to the tie-beam. At the lower end
of the hall, a plank-and-muntin screen divided off the cross-passage; chimney-
stack with 2 back-to-back hearths inserted against the upper end partition.
The ceiling over the hall, which may be later in date than the stack, has main
cross-beams and joists set flat, all with chamfer and curved'stepped stops,
and a stair trap, now filled in, an unusual feature in a hall ceiling (cf.
Swan Cottage, Lawshall, Suffolk). Plain cambered lintel to fireplace, now
with C20 ornamentation on soffit. The parlour end is a late C16 addition: on
ground floor, unchamfered joists set flat and a chamfered main beam without
stops; plain cambered fireplace lintel; stair trap in ceiling, now blocked,
indicates that the parlour is earlier than the inserted hall ceiling. Arched
braces to tie-beam in room above; 2 small reinstated diamond-mullioned
windows, and a 4-light late C17/early C18 mullion and transome window inserted
into the gable end: square section moulded mullions, intermediate bars; one
small opening casement with ornate hinges; square leaded panes. The medieval
service rooms were replaced by a single 2-bay room in the later C17: the
widely-spaced joists rest on clamps.

Listing NGR: TM0095873921

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26283539

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

• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)