Description

MORETONHAMPSTEAD FORD STREET (south side),
SX 7586
Moretonhampstead
8/141 No. 33
-
GV II

Detached cottage, originally part of larger house, now demolished.
Circa early C17 or possibly earlier. Limewashed granite rubble, probably with some
cob under eaves. Brick patching over oven on north side. Asbestos slate roof with
gabled ends. Granite shaft to front lateral stacks.
Appears to be surviving 2 rooms of a longer probably 3-room plan house which
extended to right (west) or the higher end (hall and inner room) of house which
originally extended to left (east). Alternatively it could have been a small C17
2-room plan house, possibly in a row, the others having been demolished. The left-
hand room now has direct entry into the right on an internal lateral stack on the
front. To left of stack a projecting rounded oven on corner. The original newel
stairs possibly rose in a turret over the oven but above the oven is now flush with
front wall plan and patched in brick. A through-passage has been inserted through
the right-hand (west) room and the west side of this room is now a pair of small
store rooms with access from the passage.
2 storeys. North front: circa late C19 plank door to right of centre. Passage
doorway opening to right of centre. Passage doorway opening to right. 2-light
circa early C17 first floor window above to right with heavy wooden chamfered frame
and later casements inserted. Rounded oven projection to far left corner with
patching in limewashed brick above with single-light star window. All openings
have timber lintels. Between doorway and oven a lateral stack flush with front
with tall granite shaft with granite thatch weathering at base; the shaft is topped
in red brick. Rear south has 3 late C20 casements on ground floor, 2 late C20
casements of first floor and passage entrance on left.
Interior: left-hand room has chamfered cross beam with run-out stops and square
section joists. Square section cross beam over left-hand end of room. Fireplace
in lateral stack on front wall with granite jambs, timber lintel with run-out stops
and oven with dressed granite surround and lining. Large stone newel stairs,
bottom steps projecting into room and winding around side of stack in corner of
room. Chamfered unstopped longitudinal ceiling beam in passage and store in former
right-hand (west) room.
Roof: pegged roof. One blade of 1 truss and 3 reset collars, 1 smoke-blackened and
the collars are lapped to face of the principals. These reset early timbers do not
necessarily belong to this house.
In spite of the uncertainty about the plan of this house, it does have many
interesting features and undoubtedly it is not later than C17. As an early
building in the backlands it has additional interest in the development of the
town.

Listing NGR: SX7524686118

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26389477

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

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Cumberland and Westmorland)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1967)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)