Description

FEERING FEERING HILL
TL 8619-8719 (north-west side)

8/9 3 No. 7 (Feering House)
21.1 2.67 (formerly listed as
Ferring House, Bridge
Book Shop and Laurel
Cottage)

GV II*

Part of mansion. C14-C16. Timber framed, plastered, roofed with handmade red
plain tiles. Complex plan, the whole forming a rectangle facing SE, comprising
(1) C14 2-bay 2-storey crosswing at left side of property, with C17/18 stack in
left wall, (2) C19/20 extension to rear of it, (3) early C16 2-storey main range
of one short and one long bay to right with stack in front of axis, (4) to rear
of it, C16 2-bay 2-storey crosswing with stack to left, (5) to right of main
range, 3-bay hall aligned with street, now of one storey with attics, with stack
near middle behind ridge, (6) to rear of it, C16 2-bay 2-storey crosswing with
contemporary external stack to right of rear bay, and C20 2-storey flat-roofed
extension to right of it, (7) late C16 stair tower in front of this stack and
extension. Originally this property was combined with No. 5 (Sun Cottage) and
No. 3 (The Sun Inn) (items 8/91 and 8/92, q.v.), forming a mansion known as
Strangers. Scattered fenestration, including one early C19 sash of 16 lights on
each floor, and one C19 casement in a gabled dormer. C20 door with 2-centred
head. In right return on the first floor, one C18 2-light window with
diamond-leaded crown glass in the fixed light, and altered casement, and 2
octagonal shafts on right stack. Block (1) has an underbuilt jetty at the
front, mortices for a former line of studding forming a through-passage at the
right side, plain joists of horizontal section jointed to the binding beam with
central tenons, a blocked stair trap against the rear wall, curved tension
braces trenched to the outside of the studs, and a crownpost roof with wide
axial bracing. On the first floor is an C18 hearth with rounded back. On the
rear wall, enclosed inside the first floor of the rear extension (2) is C18
external basket-pattern pargetting. Block (3) has an underbuilt jetty, plain
joists of horizontal section, a chamfered axial beam, some early C17 oak
panelling on the ground floor, and a crownpost roof with axial bracing, standing
above the roof of crosswing. Block (4) has on the first floor, in the right
wall a large unglazed window with 3 of 6 diamond mullions in situ, now blocked
by block (6), and in the left side a small C19 cast iron grate. Block (5) has a
CL7/18 inserted floor, a Victorian cast iron range, and on the first floor a
small early C17 oak panelled door with contemporary cockshead hinges. In the
rear wallplate empty rafter seatings are exposed, the rear wall having been
raised with block (6). The right bay only has a crownpost roof with axial
bracing. Block (6) has a chamfered binding beam with lamb's tongue stops, plain
joists of horizontal section, and the wallplates are also chamfered with lamb's
tongue stops. The rear wall originally had on the first floor a large oriel
window with smaller lights to each side, one of which survives, with moulded
jambs and mullion and 2 diamond saddle bars. The roof is of clasped purlin
construction With high collars and arched wind-bracing, exposed to the collars.
On the front wall of the first floor a floral wall painting of high quality,
c.1580, survives almost intact, and there are traces of similar painting on
other walls. On the ground floor is a large wood-burning hearth, the mantel
beam chamfered and mitred, with some renewed brickwork at the sides. On the
first floor is a large wood-burning hearth with rear splays, chamfered jambs and
depressed arch, with the original plaster, and over it a painted text from the
Geneva bible, Deuteronomy VI, verses 4-9. In the upper side of the stack is an
original plain cupboard, opening off the stair tower. The stair has been
rebuilt, and a doorhead on the ground floor is modern.

Listing NGR: TL8664119304

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17557441

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

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback