Description

TL 82 SW COGGESHALL ROBIN'S BRIDGE ROAD
(east side)

5/173 Cradle House

- II

Building of uncertain purpose, possibly a gatehouse or hunting lodge, now a
house. Mid to late C16, altered in C18 and C20. Timber framed and plastered,
partly of red brick in English bond, roofed with handmade red plain tiles. 2
bays facing SW, with right gable, external stack and stair outshut of red brick,
and external stack at left end. C20 wing to front, forming a T-plan, and C20
flat-roofed single-storey extension in each angle. 2 storeys. 3 C20 casements
on ground floor, 2 on first floor, and small light in gable. Board inscribed
'FTH 1938' in gable. C20 door in right extension. The rear elevation (facing
NE) has 2 C20 casements on the ground floor, 4 on the first floor, and 2 C20
doors under a combined lean-to canopy. The right gable (facing SE) is
crow-stepped on the front slope only. Outside this stands a large C16 chimney
stack with 2 attached hexagonal shafts, truncated, and a stair outshut in front
of it. The outer elevation of the stack is extended forwards and backwards by
fin walls with sloping offsets and roll mouldings. On the face are diaper and
other geometrical designs executed in flared headers. In the face of the stair
outshut are 2 chamfered rectangular loops, with modern sheet glass. Jowled
posts. Cambered tiebeams, at the right end and middle each having 2 arched
braces set at a shallow angle; the middle tiebeam also has mortices for studs
and a groove for wattle infill, probably indicating an earlier use. The braces
to the left tiebeam are missing, but there are mortices for them. In the girt
of the front wall are 3 diamond mortices of a former unglazed window. Most of
the studding in the front and rear walls has been removed; some later studding
has been substituted. 2 later tiebeams have been inserted at half-bay
positions, probably in the C17 or C18. The axial beams are unchamfered, with
plain joists of vertical section flush with the soffits, probably an C18
alteration. At the right end is a wood-burning hearth of exceptional width with
a moulded mantel beam, and in front of it an arched recess below the stair. The
stair opens off the ground-floor room near the front corner and forms a narrow
sloping tunnel which re-enters at the first floor. Its lower doorway is blocked
and concealed by an C18/19 corner cupboard with profiled shelves and plain head,
the whole mounted on hinges and dropping back into the doorway. At the left end
is a wood-burning hearth with jambs 0.46 metre wide, and a replaced mantel beam.
The building is shown on an estate map of 1619 as 'Bochiersgatehouse als
Hithertowne field als littel gathouse' (Essex Record Office T/M 195). It is
shown as Cradle House on a map of 1731 (Essex Record Office D/DU 19/2). In the
1842 tithe award of Marks Hall parish it is described as 'Cottage and garden, 2
rods and 23 perches', owner Rev. Philip James Honeywood, occupier Osgood Hanbury
(Essex Record Office D/CT 234). RCHM (Markshall) 4.

Listing NGR: TL8438923970

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26416185

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

• 
  Gloucestershire 2: The Vale and The Forest of Dean: Vale and Forest of Dean Pt. 2 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)