Description

TL60SW
723-1/6/339

INGATESTONE AND FRYERNING
BLACKMORE ROAD, Ingatestone
(South side)
Dodd's Farmhouse

II

House. C15 and late C16, extended and renovated c1966 by J Amor. Timber-framed, plastered and weatherboarded, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. Irregular H-plan with lean-to extensions, comprising (1) a late C16 main range of 2 bays facing NE, with an axial stack in the shorter right bay, late C16 and C17, (2) a late C16 cross-wing of 2 bays to left, with a C17 internal stack in the rear bay against the left wall,(3) a full-length lean-to to left, mainly C20 but of earlier origin, (4) a C15 cross-wing of 2 bays to right of the main range, (5) a C20 extension to rear of it, (6) and a lean-to to left of this, containing the stair, (7) a C20 lean-to to rear of the left bay of the main range, (8) a C20 extension in front of the right cross-wing, with a lean-to porch to left of it. 2 storeys. On the ground floor, 2 early C19 3-light casement windows of 6+6+6 lights, of which the fixed lights to each side are original, with some handmade glass, the central casements replaced in the C20 to a similar pattern. On the first floor, 2 similar windows, of which one is wholly early C19. C20 glazed door. In the rear elevation, on the first floor, are 2 similar windows. In the right elevation, on the ground floor, is one similar window, and on the first floor is one more, and a similar window of 6+6+6 lights. The front elevation is plastered, the left and rear elevations mainly weatherboarded, the right elevation of painted brickwork on the ground floor, weatherboarded above. INTERIOR: the left bay of the main range has a chamfered axial beam jointed to a chamfered binding beam, both with lamb's tongue stops, and plain joists of vertical section lodged on original girts. Original doorway in the right bay, in front of the stack, doorhead missing, forming a lobby-entrance, but the doorway to right into the earlier cross-wing has been closed by brickwork, probably when the house was converted to cottages. Large wood-burning hearth facing to left with 0.33m jambs, late C16, with C20 mantel beam. Back to back with it is a C17 stack; large wood-burning hearth with 0.23m jambs and chamfered mantel beam with lamb's tongue stops. The first-floor hearth facing to left also has a C20 mantel beam. In the rear wall all the ground-floor studding is missing, and some of the first-floor studding. Original doorway to stair tower to rear of stack, the posts chamfered with lamb's tongue stops, doorhead severed. The height of the tower has been reduced to form a lean-to. The left cross-wing has in the rear bay a chamfered axial beam with lamb's tongue stops, and plain joists of vertical section. In the front bay all the joists have been replaced, including some of reused timber of horizontal section. The ground-floor studding to left of the front bay is missing; the girt has 3 diamond mortices and the shutter groove of a former unglazed window. Unjowled posts, primary straight bracing, heavy studding in upper walls,almost straight central tie-beam, clasped purlin roof. The combination of features makes this closely datable to the final years of the C16. The main range appears to be integrated with it and of the same date, and the left part of the stack also. The right cross-wing is a strange and possibly unique type of building, apparently built originally as a medieval open hall or kitchen, converted in the late C15 to a 2-storey building with a jetty to the front. It is 4m in span, 6.55m long on the upper floor, 4.27m high to the wallplates. The posts are unjowled; much of the studding of the lower storey is replaced by brickwork on the right side, the C17 hearth on the left, and missing at the front. The central binding beam has been mutilated at one end to gain clearance. All but one of the joists are rafters reused at an early date, retaining the natural taper of the trees, with the smaller ends central-tenoned in over-size mortices in the binding beam. 2 of them still have sawn-off oblique pegs at the other end, from their original jointing to a wallplate. Near the front end they exhibit the pressure marks of a jetty, now underbuilt. The joists of the rear bay are plastered to the soffits, but the uneven and inclined surface suggests that they are early. The upper part of the right middle post has been reduced and rebated to form a doorway, probably when the present 2-storey main range was built against the earlier cross-wing. The front tie-beam is moulded, originally to a bowtell in great casement, now mutilated, with diamond mortices for 2 unglazed windows, each originally having 3 mullions, separated by a stud, with a long square groove for sliding shutters. The front gable is intact, now enclosed by the front extension; it has heavy studding and 2 near-straight braces trenched to the outside, all characteristic of the late C15. The roof is of collar-rafter construction, all but 2 couples heavily smoke-blackened, but the gable has no trace of smoke, indicating that it was built after the remainder of the roof ceased to be used as an open hall or kitchen. At the rear an intact gablet hip is enclosed by the later extension, with mortices through the last 2 rafter couples for the supporting structure of a bonnet to protect the smoke vent from rain (see Gibson, 22-31). The original pegs of the smoke-blackened couples are finely finished with chamfered arrises, suggesting a C14 origin. 2 less well-finished couples without smoke-blackening have been inserted at the second build. There is no evidence of a crown-post or collar-purlin structure. There is no reason to believe that this building has been dismantled and re-erected, so it must be either the hall of the house which previously served the holding, or a formerly detached kitchen; the absence of any evidence of partitioning suggests the latter. The early C19 casement windows are of exceptional interest, and deserve special care. The frames are of jointed and pegged hardwood, most of the mullions and frames chamfered and mitred, some beaded. The original glazing bars are slender and elegantly moulded. Where the central casements have been replaced they are probably of softwood, and the sections of the glazing bars are slightly heavier. This house is unusual in having escaped being Georgianised by the introduction of sash windows, and its character has been retained in a careful renovation.
(Essex Journal: Gibson AVB: Some Small Un-jettied Medieval
Houses in Essex: 1974-: 22-31).

Listing NGR: TL6365699656

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26491758

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

• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Lancashire: Manchester and the South-East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Buildings of England)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)