History

A vernacular farmhouse of probable C17 date, originally thatched. In the mid C19 a taller, 2 storey farmhouse was built against and in front of the long wall (to the S), with the former front door providing access between the two. Formerly part of the Baron Hill estate.

Exterior

The older of the two houses is a low, fully lofted farmhouse with gable end chimneys. Built abutting the long (S) wall of the original house is a taller, 2 storey, 3-window farmhouse, now forming the front of the house. The original house is fully lofted, with rubble walls and boulder foundation, partly rendered. Steeply pitched slate roof, and tall gable end stacks with dripstones and capping, rendered. The chimney to the right serving the inglenook is a recent re-build, based on the dimensions of the original chimney, which had been replaced by a smaller brick chimney. The existing back door (on the N side) is offset to the right, with a wide window to the left (E) serving the main room, with a smaller window to the extreme left serving the pantry, and with a small window to the right (W) lighting the stairs, now blocked by later building. In the E gable is a recent window cut to the ground floor, with an original window to the loft. All window frames are replacements. Abutting the W end of the N side of the original house is a single storey dairy and boiling house with rubble walls, roof covering of corrugated iron and with a massive square chimney to the gable end. To the W of the dairy is a complete horse engine of cast-iron, originally used for churning. Abutting the W gable wall of the house is a late C19 lean-to dairy or cold store, accessed from the boiling house.

The later house was probably added in the mid C19, to the long, S wall of the original and comprises a 2-storey, 3-window farmhouse with a central door and formal elevation. Coursed rubble walls, thin slate roof covering, with slate copings. Gable end stacks, rendered. Windows are 12-pane horned sashes with rendered shouldered architraves. Narrow 8-pane sash windows to E gable, one to ground floor and two to first floor, with flat brick arch heads. Bay window to W gable wall. Abutting gable end is brick lean-to dairy.

Interior

The original house has a gable end inglenook fireplace serving a larger room, with two smaller rooms to the E partitioned by in-and-out boarding. Alongside the inglenook, in the NW corner, is a winding wooden staircase. The main elevation of the original house faced S, with a central door flanked by windows. When the second house was added in the C19, the two windows were made redundant, but not infilled, with one now in the cupboad under the stairs retaining horizontal sliding sash windows, and the other being used as a cupboard. The ceiling has 2 heavy transverse beams with stop-chamfered joists, mostly stepped ogee stops, with some run-out stops and flat stops. The inglenook fireplace has a simple oak bresummer, with a brick-lined oven in the right corner. To the right (N) of the inglenook is a crudely-made winding wooden staircase, originally lit by a window, which is now blocked by a later building, but not infilled. The roof structure is of 3 bays, with 2 collared trusses with shaped and stop-chamfered collars, pegged. The loft is sub-divided by a partition of in-and-out boarding, with the smaller part to the E having a small fireplace and gable end window. The outline of former windows to the S wall can be seen, probably dormer windows. There is a door cut through to the first floor of the new house.

New house: central stair hall plan, 4-panel doors, full-height reveals to windows. The walls to the hall and stairs are painted plaster with imitation ashlar scoring.

Reasons for Listing

Listed as an exceptionally well-preserved C17 small vernacular farmhouse, retaining many interior features, including a range of stop-chamfers and an unusual winding staircase made of wood. The farmhouse is also of interest for clearly showing the development of vernacular houses, with a second house built in the mid C19, in the local vernacular style, with the original house unusually being retained for use a service rooms.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29496880

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

• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Building Small Projects (New Best of Fine Woodworking)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects, Supplement 2014
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)