Details
YALDING BENOVER ROAD
TQ 74 NW
(south-west side)
4/64
The Normans
(formerly listed
as Normans
13-5-67
Cottages, Benover)
GV II*
House, formerly cottages, now house. Late C16 or early C17, restored in
mid C20. Timber framed, with rendered infilling. Herringbone brick
infilling (probably C20) to left return. Plain tile roof. Courtyard
house. Front range faces south-east, with symmetrical central-entry plan
of 3 timber-framed bays, that to centre shorter. Rear range has 5 timber-
framed bays; central stackbay, with one room comprising two timber-framed
bays to left (south-west), and one long bay and one very short gable-end
bay to right. Front and rear ranges joined by a single bay each side of
a small courtyard. 2 storeys and attic, on ragstone plinth. Close-studded
all round, including courtyard elevations, but excepting part of left
return. Each floor has secondary midrail half way up. Front elevation:
continuous jetty, with moulded bressumer and enriched solid-spandrel
brackets. Similar continuous eaves jetty, carried on projecting tie-beam
and wall-plate ends, and supporting three gables, that to centre smaller.
All three have enriched bargeboards and moulded finials and pendants.
Hipped roof to rear range, hips returning forwards to form sides of outer
gables. Eaves and ridges continuous throughout house. Long curved sprockets.
Projecting gable end stacks to front range, each dressed stone, on
chamfered stone plinth, and with stone slab offsets. Left stack has red
brick flue in English-type bond, with tumbled shoulders. Right stack has
two diagonally-set flues on red and grey brick plinth in English bond,
with moulded cornice. Central multiple brick ridge stack to rear range.
Ovolo-moulded mullion windows to gables; one four-light to each outer gable
and one two-light to centre. Regular 3-window front of rectangular moulded
mullioned and transomed oriel windows on enriched brackets; one twelve-
light with three-light ovolo-moulded mullioned frieze windows to each
outer bay, and one ten-light with single-light ovolo-moulded frieze
windows to central bay. Ground floor has similar frieze windows and
twelve-light bay window, the latter on chamfered ragstone base, to each
outer bay, and one four-light ovolo-moulded mullioned window (deepened
to eight-light, probably later) to central bay. Broad moulded rectangular
doorway with ribbed boarded door, up three ragstone steps to left side of
central bay. Left return elevation: eight-light moulded mullioned and
transomed window on chamfered stone base to left end of rear range.
Moulded rectangular doorway to shorter central bay. Rear elevation:
irregular fenestration of ovolo-moulded mullion windows (mainly original)
to both floors. Right return elevation: three-light ovolo-moulded mullion
window to right end of front range, behind stack. Boarded door in C20
recess to right end of rear range. Courtyard: ovolo-moulded mullion
windows to each face, on each floor. Original rectangular doorway to rear
range, in rear right corner. Interior: exposed framing. Front range has
chamfered axial beam with chamfered tenoned cross beam to right and left
rooms on each floor, and axial beam to entrance hall. Rear range has
chamfered cross beam and chamfered tenoned axial beams to left room on
each floor, and chamfered axial beam to right room. Axial joists to central
left room on ground floor, and chamfered axial beam to central right room.
Shaped jowls of large scantling to principal posts, except to front corners.
Each range has clasped-purlin roof with diminishing principal rafters,
curved windbraces, and intermediate collars, but no queen struts. Each
corner turned on three principal rafters of particularly large scantling.
Broad attic floorboards. Timber-framed partitions throughout house, framed
with two panels per storey. Moulded rectangular doorways to front range
rooms on ground floor. More simply-moulded doorway from stair hall to
left room of rear range on both floors, and to head of smaller right
staircase on first floor. Moulded four-centred-arched stone fireplace
with rose and spear-leaf spandrels, dressing in very light relief, and vase
stops with strapwork to chamfer below them, to both ground-floor rooms
and left first-floor room of front range (right first-floor fireplace
blocked). Broad, tooled stone fireplace with plain chamfer, vase stops,
and chamfered wooden bressumer, to left and right ground-floor rooms of
rear range, and small chamfered stone fireplace with bressumer to left
first-floor room. Broad C20 open-well staircase in a C17 style, with
turned oak balusters and moulded handrail, to central bay of left return.
Small enclosed single-flight staircase to central bay of right return.
A relatively uncommon house in this area.
Listing NGR: TQ7003648742
