Description

TQ 54 SE BIDBOROUGH UPPER HAYESDEN

4/29 Fosters Farmhouse

GV II

Farmhouse. Probably late C15 in origin, partly remodelled in the circa
early/mid C16, and again in the early C17. Circa early C18 addition. Framed
construction, originally on a stone plinth, the ground floor underbuilt in
brick, the first floor tile-hung; peg-tile roof; brick stacks.

Plan and Development: Complex evolution. Overall T plan, the main range
facing west with a rear wing at right angles. The main range was originally 2
cells and smoke-blackening in the roofspace suggests that the north cell was
an open hall, probably late C15 in origin. In the circa mid C16 the hall was
floored with a smoke bay introduced at the north end, probably with an
adjacent stair to the east. There may have been a cross passage entrance to
the medieval house within the lower end (south) cell. In the circa early C17
the smoke bay was floored and replaced with an axial stack introduced into the
putative cross passage with back-to-back fireplaces heating both rooms and a
lobby entrance facing the stack. The north room became the kitchen with a
parlour to the south. The existing stair, in the north east corner of the
north room, probably dates from this phase and the rear service wing may be
part of the same programme of improvement. The house was extended in the
circa early C18 with a one-room plan addition under a roofline at the north
end heated by a left end stack. This was probably the kitchen, upgrading the
C17 kitchen to a second parlour.

Exterior: 2 storeys. Symmetrical 3-bay west front to the main range plus one
bay to the lower-roofed addition at the left end. The main range has a
ragstone plinth and steps up to a central C19 plank door with a flat porch
hood. Gabled roof; axial stack with staggered triple shafts with corbelled
coping. Casement windows throughout with square leaded panes, the 4-light
windows flanking the door have been re-glazed in the C20, the others, 2- and
3-light, are probably C18. There is a C20 conservatory addition at the south
end with a doorway into the south room.

Interior: Rich in early carpentry. The left hand (north) room of the main
range has an early/mid C16 step-stopped chamfered crossbeam with plain joists
on the south side. On the north side of the crossbeam the joists are
chamfered and belong to the circa early C17 phase of flooring over the smoke
bay. A C17 oak stair with a co-eval plank door rises in the north east corner
of the room. Redundant mortises in the ceiling beams suggest that it is on
the site of an earlier stair associated with the smoke bay phase. There are 2
blocked doorways in the framing on the rear wall. The C17 fireplace has
ragstone jambs and an original oak lintel. A bake oven opening survives in
the left hand jamb and there are 2 keeping places, one formerly with a door,
in the fireback. The right hand (south) room also preserves its original
fireplace, similar to that in the parlour. The soffit of the massive
crossbeam has been dressed off except at the east end where it is chamfered
with big bar stops. This detail in conjunction with evidence in the roofspace
suggests that the south end of the house may have been largely rebuilt in the
C17 phase. Exposed joists also survive. The ceiling is coved in front of the
fireplace to support the chamber above. The first floor rooms in the main
range preserve their exposed ceiling beams.

Roof: The north end wall of the original house is plastered in a pattern of
whorls and is heavily sooted. A closed partition just north of the inserted
stack is similarly plastered and sooted. Presumably this represents the
length of the original open hall of the medieval phase. The rafters of the
clasped purlin queen post roof between are not evenly smoke-blackened but
there has been considerable repair to the roof including an added ridgeboard
and new timber scarfed into the old. The smoke bay is marked by a tie between
the purlins. The framing below the tie has been removed and the smoke bay
partition never rose to the apex of the roof but stopped at the level of the
tie which is heavily sooted on the north side but clean on the south side. On
either side of the stack and south of it the roof is largely constructed of
re-used timbers, some sooted, others with redundant mortises.

Group value with the threshing barn to the south west.

A very unspoiled traditional farmhouse with a long building history.

Listing NGR: TQ5613244755

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26541133

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

• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990: Updated version
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  For the Record
• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)