Finkley Manor Farmhouse, Smannell, Hampshire

Summary

C18 vernacular farmhouse, with surviving curing chamber and later additions.

Description

House, two-storey and attic, originating in the C18, with C19 and C20 extensions and ancillary buildings.

MATERIALS: built from brick laid in Flemish bond, with gauged brick or stone lintels, clay tiled roofs and brick chimneystacks. Corbelled eaves.

PLAN: The ground plan of the house is a double fronted, double pile structure, with extensions to the east and north. Map regression suggests that the plan of the house has developed over time, but this is not obvious from the visible fabric.

EXTERIOR: The principal (west) elevation of the house is of an early C18 symmetrical, double-front with door at centre (with later brick porch), with a similarly detailed two windowed-bay extension to the north added soon after. The windows are of multi-paned sashes (a mixture of eight-over-eight and six-over-six, with one three-over-three) under a mixture of stone lintels and gauged brick skew back arches. The roof is hipped and of plain tiles, and stacks placed symmetrically.

The south elevation, also of brick, is laid in Flemish bond, has three bays with five sash windows (four six-over-six and one three-over-three) and a blind window under a segmental arch in the middle bay of the upper storey. Beneath the blind window is a distinguishing Sun fire insurance plaque. A dormer with casements is above.

The east elevation is dominated by two large flues. The scar of the demolished rear hall is visible in the brickwork. The remainder of the elevation is concealed by sympathetic modern extensions as is the north elevation.

INTERIORS: include C18 and C19 traditional panelled and timber doors, wide, early floorboarding, small-pane sash and case windows. The reception hall contains a closed string stair with stick balusters and a chamfered square newel. The stair case may have been moved, as it does not align with the newel at the top of the stairs. Also a large marble fireplace with iron fire grate. The sitting room contains a similar fireplace, and is lit by two three-over-three unhorned (and therefore probably pre 1840s) sash windows fitted with bead and hollow glazing bars.

The dining room contains a large transverse beam across the ceiling. The beam contains a number of vacant mortises, and is chamfered (but with no stops), suggesting it may be reused. The room also contains a large brick inglenook fireplace with a salt shelf. The shape of the (external) stack indicates the presence of a curing chamber within the flue above the inglenook. The dining room is separated from the adjacent hallway by a small window. The adjacent hallway has a wide strip of pavoirs running across the otherwise tiled floor.

The scullery, opposite the dining room and behind the reception hall, contains a number of features of interest, including a small shuttered window, a fire-proof safe and a chamfered ceiling beam. The ceiling beam continues into the kitchen at the rear of the house.

The bedrooms on the first floor contain a number of features of interest, including C18 doors and ironmongery and C19 register grates. The attic is partially ceiled, but with its queen strut and staggered purlin structure revealed.

The building stands above a brick cellar, which contains a large reused timber beam and a coal chute.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Adjacent to the house, to the north and east, stand a barn, a walled garden with an outbuilding known as the bothy, an ice house, a well, and while excluded, a greenhouse and a garage with mid C20 pump.

The rectangular-plan barn is of mixed brick and cob construction with a half-hipped plain tile roof. Elements of the timber frame of the barn are visible in the gables, and are infilled with brick noggin in stretcher bond. The roof is a queen strut construction, and is constructed from reused timber. Half of the roof space is boarded and used as a loft. The interior of the barn is a single open space.

The rectangular-plan bothy is of rendered cob with brick dressings, under a hipped corrugated iron roof, and is incorporated into the wall of the rectangular walled garden to the north of the house, also of cob with a corrugated iron cap. The interior of the bothy is a single open space. The roof is formed from partially converted timbers.

The ice house and well were not inspected.

Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the following are not of special architectural or historic interest: the two storey modern extension at the north east, rear, of the farmhouse. In addition, it is declared that the greenhouse and garage are not of special architectural or historic interest.

History

The early history of Finkley Manor Farmhouse is not known. There are documentary references to Finkley Farm dating to 1734, but there is no definitive proof that it refers to the current building. The first definite reference to the building is a depiction on the estate map of George Dewar, dated 1785. The map depicts the farmhouse as an L-shaped structure, with a west and a south wing. A C-shaped range of buildings is visible to the south.

There is insufficient detail on the OS Map 1” (1817 edn) to identify the building, but by the time of the OS Map 25” (1873 edn), the building is depicted as square, with an extension to the south-east. The outbuildings known as the barn and the bothy are first visible on the OS Map 25” (1873 edn). The greenhouse and garage to the east first appear on the OS Map 1:10000 (1961 edn).

A two-storey extension was added to the north of Finkley Manor Farmhouse in 1989 and the south-eastern extension was reconstructed/reconfigured in 2008. At the same time, the roof line of the east façade was altered and the rear hall was demolished, leaving the former shower room as a standalone store.

Reasons for Listing

Finkley Manor Farmhouse, an C18 vernacular farmhouse developed in the C19, with ancillary features, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a good surviving example of an early-C18 vernacular farmhouse, with harmonious C19 additions demonstrating the development to serve growing demands;
* for the survival of particular features of interest, including a curing chamber and fire insurance plaque.
* for the survival and extent of ancillary buildings;

Historic interest:

* as an evolving farmhouse dating from the early C18, with the ancillary buildings evidencing the range of activities supporting the thriving domestic economy, and illustrating the changing fortunes of the farm estate.

External Links

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