Description

SX 86 NE BROADHEMPSTON
3/31 Ambrook Farmhouse including
Courtyard Wall and doorway to
23.8.55 South
- II*
Farmhouse. C17 possibly with earlier origins, extended in circa early C19. Rubble
walls, rendered to porch and lower, right hand, end. Dressed red sandstone detail
to doorways. Slate roof, gable ended, hipped to wing. Rubble gable end stack to
left and rendered rubble axial stack to right, lateral to wing.
Originally 3-room and cross passage plan with lower end to the right and possibly
original C17 staircase in small wing at rear of passage and 2 storey porch to the
front. Lower end extended with wing to front in circa early C19 the lower side of
which formed a new front to the road.
2 storeys. Asymmetrical front with (central) C17 2-storeyed gabled porch and wing
at front of lower, right, end. To left of porch 1 late C20 3-light casement on
ground and first floor with glazing bars. Porch has wide 4-centred arched red
sandstone doorway with heavy roll moulding and carved foliage in spandrels. Mid C19
12-pane sash window above, with horns. Above that, carved in the render, as if a
plaque is behind it, are the initials 'J.G' and the date 1673. To right of porch is
blocked doorway and immediately beyond it the wall projects with a probably early
C20 2-light casement. The wing projects to the right of it and a pentice slate roof
runs along its inside face and across the front wall of the courtyard. The opposite
side of the wing, facing the road, has an early C19 symmetrical 3-window front of
12-pane hornless sashes with a central 6-panel door which has a penelled surround
and rectangular fanlight above it. The original front of the house had a courtyard
which partially survives, with a certain amount of infilling, and at the front of
it, opposite the porch is a narrow 4-centred arched red sandstone doorway with roll
moulding and more simply carved spandrels. Its narrow width is unusual for a
courtyard arch and it is possible that it has been re-used.
Interior : contains fewer C17 features than might have been expected but those that
do survive are of a good quality. The front doorway inside the porch has a heavy
C17 square-headed wooden doorframe with ovolo and hollow moulding and vase stops :
probably contemporary heavy plank and studded door with old brass keyhole. At the
rear of the passage is large open well staircase to which the C17 octagonal newels
survive which have hollow step stops to the chamfered edges. The original balusters
have been replaced. The left hand ground floor room seems unlikely to have been a
kitchen because its fireplace has a good quality ovolo-moulded wooden lintel. To
the lower side of the passage the room layout has been altered and is now several
smaller rooms with the lower end room remodelled as part of the C19 wing. It has a
fireplace with a rough stone arch and panelled shutters to the window. On the first
floor at the head of the staircase are 2 square-headed C17 wooden ovolo moulded
doorframes with high hollow step stops. Probably C18/C19 roof timbers with straight
principals and lapped collars.
This was an important C17 house in the area, probably a gentry house, and as such is
a relatively unusual survival; although many of its features have been lost those
that survive are of a high quality and reflect the status of the house.

Listing NGR: SX8199265443

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17535202

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

• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair by Hunt. Roger ( 2008 ) Hardcover
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]