History

A late medieval end entry open hall house dating probably from the late C15 (1480-1520). It began as a two unit house with a single bay open hall which retains its smoke blackened roof. The second bay was always separate and always storied, so it had a ladder stair. The hall was given an upper floor in the C17 when the chimneys were inserted and the staircase built round the new stack. The timber framed partition on the first floor was broken through to give access to the inner room from the new staircase. A additional kitchen bay was built at this time, making a cross passage entry; this may have been a byre conversion but not enough evidence remains, there appear to have been paired doorways on the front at one stage. Since then there has been little change apart from the rebuilding of the upper floor of the kitchen bay (if it had an upper floor). It was in a state of dereliction and was rebuilt to the same roofline as the rest of the house following purchase in 1987. The roofing material was also changed at this time, as well as the replacement windows.

Exterior

Pink and grey local sandstone rubble with an artificial slate roof (plastic). One storey and attic. Rectangular single depth three unit block with cross passage entry, hall and inner room to right with the hall stack backing onto the passage, and kitchen to left. The left hand end has been largely rebuilt and heightened since 1987 as can be clearly seen in the stonework. The right hand end of the house is on a battered stone plinth giving a clear indication of medieval origins. The ground floor has three windows, a 2-light timber casement under an oak lintel to left (this is fitted into what appears to have once been a doorway, two beam ends project to support what was a porch), a 3-light to the hall (this has a much wider dripmould), and a 2-light with dripmould to the inner room. The windows with dripmoulds indicate improvements of the C17, although the present ones are differernt sizes from those. The entrance is between the first and second windows with chamfered oak architrave and studded plank door. This is under the same oak lintel as the window to the left. The upper floor has two 3-light half dormers sloping heads. Hall stack and end gable stack are both weathered for thatch. The left gable is modern, the right gable has an attic casement, the rear elevation is blind except at the modern end, and has a rooflight.

Interior

The interior of this house is very remarkable. The entry is onto what was a cross passage which may never have had a rear door due to the hillside immediately backing the house. On the left there is no partition and the kitchen is now modern apart from a chamfered ceiling beam with run out stops. All the upper part of this section is new. To the right is the end entry into the medieval hall which was a single bay and open to the roof. The present room was formed in the C17 when the fireplace, staircase and ceiling beams were introduced. The fireplace has been altered with a concrete lintel. The beams are chamfered with scroll stops, the underside of the floor boards are visible and these have been packed up in recent times. The inner partition is very unusually a stone wall with two doorways. This indicates two inner rooms originally, these were unheated. The present room has a ceiling beam with hollow chamfer and runout stops, C19 joists, a modern fireplace, and bare stone walls. There is some evidence of a small window in the rear wall, and a vertical recess in the front wall. A stone firestair leads to the upper floor of the hall. This has very good wide oak floorboards from the C17. A remarkable feature is the top of the stone partition wall which rises to eaves height and then has a timber framed partition of heavy oak, a wall plate, principals and vertical studs. This has been broken through in the centre with a C17 oak plank door to give access to the upper inner room. The centre of the room has an arched braced collar truss with trenched purlin, the brace has slipped on the south wall where the pegs have broken, both have iron straps. The inner room has a C19 floor which is two steps down. The only features of interest are the continuing timber work. The roof space, accessible over both rooms gives proof positive that the hall was open and that the timber frame above the stone partition is original. The hall roof is heavily smoke blackened, and the inner room roof is equally clearly not. An additional point of interest is the apparent confirmation that the inner end was always storied and must therefore have had a ladder stair from the lower room until the C17 changes.

Reasons for Listing

Listed for its special interest as a late medieval house retaining much interior detail including the unusual feature of a stone partition wall.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29496678

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

• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  London 3: North West: North West v. 3 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of History Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
• 
  Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)