Summary
Two cottages, originally a c1476 hall house.
Reasons for Designation
17-18 West Mills, two cottages, originally a c1476 hall house, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Date: a late-C15 building that retains much historic fabric, with later alterations illustrating the pattern of development;
* Architectural interest: for the survival of an early, relatively modest and small-scale timber framed building which retains a significant proportion of its original fabric;
* Historic interest: dendrochronology has revealed that the building originated in the late C15, and the surviving fabric has the potential to reveal more about the building's construction and development;
* Group value: it has strong group value with many other nearby listed buildings.
History
Nos 17-18 West Mills appears to have been built as a jettied hall house. Dendrochronology was undertaken on timbers from the ground and first floors and has provided a date of 1476 or soon after for its construction, and has shown that of its three bays, the first floor of the outer bays and the front half of the central bay were ceiled from the outset, and the rear central bay was open to the roof to expel smoke. A central chimneystack was inserted, possibly in the C17, at which time the building may have been separated into two residences, and a timber-framed, two-storey pitched range added to the rear of No 17. Originally jettied, the front wall of the ground floor was rebuilt in brick, in line with the first floor.
A successful local clothier, Thomas Pearce, died in 1671 and endowed £400 in his will for the purchase of two tenements to be an almshouse for ‘two decayed weavers’ of good character. 17 and 18 West Mills were chosen and bought for the sum of £48, and the remaining money was used to buy land to provide an income for the charity. The building was used as almshouses until 1885, at which time a new facility was constructed at Enborne Road, upon which Pearce’s 1671 porch plaque remains. The cottages were converted to offices in the 1980s, and in c2012 were returned to residential use. They have been extended to the rear.
Details
Two cottages, originally a c1476 hall house.
MATERIALS: the building is of oak-frame and brick, with a clay tiled roof and brick chimneystack.
PLAN: the main range of the building has three bays and is orientated east to west, facing north onto West Mills; it is divided roughly in half along the line of the central stack, and has been extended to the rear to create two, two-room plan cottages. The single storey extension to the rear is not included in the listing.
EXTERIOR: the principal elevation is brick on the ground floor and timber-framed with brick infill on the first floor. The ground floor has a shallow timber door case on the left, and a pitched porch on the right, both of which contain modern doors. Between these are two windows: on the left a pair of six-over-six pane sashes, and on the right an eight-over-eight sash, both of which have hood moulds. The bressumer of the former jetty divides the storeys, above which is an irregular series of studs with occasional horizontal members and a single arched brace. Three windows have been inserted on the first floor; all are eight-over-eight sashes beneath hood moulds. The chimney, a modern rebuilding, rises just left of centre, behind the ridge of the roof. On the rear elevation, the ground floor is a modern extension and is excluded from the listing. On the first floor there is a gabled wing projecting shallowly on the right (No 17); the apex is tile hung and has brick below, and it has three, four-light casement windows. To the left of the gable is a modern dormer with two pairs of four-light casements.
INTERIOR: the timber frame is exposed across most of the interior spaces; there is a large axial bridging beam with deep chamfers supporting the first-floor joists, and two large cross beams. The joists bear the scars of the former jetty plate, since removed, and the supporting jowel post appears to have been plastered over. The original rear wall is evident in No 17 by the mortises for window mullions. There are various breaks and further mortises in the timbers, suggesting modifications to the frame and the loss of stud partitions. On the ground floor the fireplace in No 17 incorporates modern brick at the base and has a reused timber lintel, above which is historic handmade brick. The fireplace in No 18 has been rebuilt. The roof consists of two queen post trusses, butt purlins and coupled rafters without a ridge piece; there are arched wind braces at the ends.
