Description

LAXFIELD FRESSINGFIELD ROAD
TM 27 SE

4/46 Aldridge's Farmhouse
-

GV II*

Farmhouse. First half of C14 with C16-C17, C19 and C20 alterations. Timber
framed with a plastered front, the remainder roughcast-rendered or red brick.
Roof of glazed black pantiles. 2 storeys. A former open hall house of
raised-aisle form with storied solar and service ends. 4 windows, mid C20
large-paned casements; 3 canted ground floor bays. C20 gabled porch and half-
glazed door. The raised-aisle structure is mostly intact: octagonal queen-
posts, originally with moulded capitals, arched braced to tie beam and arcade
plates. Evidence for side ties from each queen-post to the top plate. The
tie beam carries an octagonal crown post with boldly roll-moulded capital and
base and a splayed head and foot; it is arch-braced to the heavy collar
purlin, much of which survives; evidence of bracing to collar. There is an
additional tie beam each side of the open truss and 2 tie beams over the
cross-passage. The lower parts of a few rafters also survive. The remainder
of the roof was lost when the house was raised, probably in C19; the present
roof is of mid C20 date. Some of the original wall structure is exposed
mainly in the hall. Widely-spaced studs; top rail with a stop-splayed scarf
joint lm long. Parts of both end walls of the hall are visible, including the
original plastered gable at the lower end, all with heavy plain studding.
Evidence for an original hall window and cross-passage doorways. In C16 a
stack was inserted into the upper end of the hall. C16 inserted ceiling with
an additional bridging beam at right angles to the original (which was arch-
braced) and chamfered joists. C17 parlour ceiling. Some good panelling of
c.1600 in the cross-passage, said to have been brought from elsewhere. This
is the oldest house in the parish. Remains of medieval moat.

Listing NGR: TM2777474065

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17536022

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

• 
  Herefordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)