Description

EWHURST

1917/14/7 STAPLECROSS ROAD (B2165)
03-AUG-61 Benedict House and Benedict Lodge

(Formerly listed as:
NORTHIAM ROAD
BENEDICT HOUSE)
(Formerly listed as:
BENEDICT HOUSE)
(Formerly listed as:
BENEDICT OAST)
(Formerly listed as:
NORTHIAM ROAD
BENEDICT OAST)

II
Former oasthouses with attached former farm building, later a hotel and tearooms, currently two houses.

DATE: Farm building probably C18, oasthouses early to mid-C19, both refenestrated and refurbished in C20.

MATERIALS: The farm building is weatherboarded over a timber frame with tiled roof, the oasthouses of red brick with tiled roof.

PLAN: Two cylindrical oasts to the east with attached farm building to the west, part probably stowage, the eastern part of three storeys, the western part of two storeys.

EXTERIOR: Benedict House comprises the eastern part and Benedict Lodge the western part. Benedict House includes two cylindrical brick oasts to the east with conical tiled roofs and wooden cowls and fantails. These have been converted to residential accommodation on three floors with small square fixed metal casements to the upper floor and taller round-headed fixed casements to the lower floors, a round-headed entrance with half-glazed door and a small brick chimneystack to the east. Attached to the west is a weatherboarded former farm building, probably originally stowage for the oasthouses. The tiled roof is half-hipped to the western end and there is a brick chimneystack to the penultimate bay to the west. The three storey section and the eastern bay of the two storey section is part of Benedict House. The western part of the two storey section is Benedict Lodge. This range has irregular fenestration of C20 wooden casements with metal glazing bars.
There is a C20 lean-to brick porch to Benedict House and projecting porch to Benedict Lodge.

INTERIOR: Benedict Lodge is reported to have a drawing room rising the full height of the building with an exposed roof structure and some cross beams are visible. The interior was refurbished in the 1960s, following a fire and most of the timber frame is not visible.

HISTORY: The name refers to the former ownership of the land by the Benedictine order.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
Benedict House and Benedict Lodge are designated for the following principal reasons:
* The western part is a weatherboarded former farm building with old tiled roof, probably dating from the C18.
* At the east end are an attached pair of brick oasthouses, probably of early C19 date which, despite conversion, retain their picturesque form, material and features.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26565901

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

• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  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)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper