Description

TL 519 091 HIGH LAVER
5/6 Mashams

11*

Hall house, c.1400, altered in late C16/early C17. Timber framed, plastered
with frame exposed externally, roof thatched. 2-bay hall aligned approx. E-W,
integral storeyed parlour/solar end to E, crosswing to W, originally jettied
to S, now underbuilt. Original main door to S, at W end of hall, now blocked
by inserted brick chimney stack, late C16/early C17, and forming an alcove
accessible from outside only, the present door being to the N. Single-storey
with attics, and 2 storeys in crosswing. S elevation, original doorway with
3-centred arch, blocked internally as above, 3 C2O leaded casement windows;
on first floor, one more, and another in eyebrow dormer. Roof hipped at W,
half-hipped at E. Framing exposed internally. Jowled posts, heavy studding,
curved braces trenched outside, interrupted tiebeam construction at E end.
wattle and daub infill in external and internal walls largely intact. Hall
window to N with transom, heavy centre mullion and 2 diamond mullions to each
side, with C20 leaded glazing outside. Cambered central tiebeam chamfered below
in 2 orders, with one deep arched brace present. Octagonal central crownpost
with 4 arched braces. Original roof of main block intact with all rafters,
collars and collar-purlin. Roof of crosswing rebuilt. Timber framed smoke
hood, mid-C16, over whole W bay of hall, intact, a rare survival, with inserted
brick chimney inside it, late C16, leaving the timber structure unaltered.
Second brick chimney, back to back with the first, early C17, in the original
cross-entry, blocking it and forming the external alcove described above.
Original floor in E bay, of lodged longitudinal joists of horizontal section.
Inserted floor in E bay of hall, of longitudinal joists of vertical section,
exposed. Original floorboards. Edge-halved and bridled scarf in S wallplate.
This house contains an exceptional number of original features, and illustrates
particularly clearly a sequence of development which was common in other hall
houses in Essex, but where the evidence is now less satisfactory. Up to the
C16 it had an open hall, with a hearth in the W bay, separated from the cross-
entry by a reredos of non-flammable material, probably flint rubble or mud.
In the early or mid-C16 a timber framed structure was built around the hearth,
and a pyramidal smoke hood above, occupying the W bay of the hall from tiebeam
to tiebeam - all of which is still present. This left the cross-entry
unobstructed. Later a floor was inserted in the hall, the upper room thus
provided being lit at first by the upper part of the hall window. Later still,
a dormer window was constructed; the,evidence of the Walker maps in Essex Record
Office suggests that this development did not occur until after 1600.
In the early C17 a second brick chimney was built, back to back with the first,
blocking the cross-entry, converting the original service end to a parlour,
the original parlour at the E end becoming a service room - as it is still.
In a larger house the chimney stacks could have been placed axially, producing a
lobby-entrance to the front, but here the first stack was off-centre, against
the S wall, so a lobby-entrance developed to the N, as it has remained. The
jetty was underbuilt, re-using the same timbers, and the house was clad with
weatherboards, over the original wattle and daub; the weatherboarding was
removed in the early years of the C20, since when there have been no other
significant alterations.

Listing NGR: TL5190409066

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17531782

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.

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