Lovetts Farmhouse

Details

HADLOW DOWN WHEELER'S LANE 1. 5208 Lovetts Farmhouse TQ 52 SW 27/605 II 2.

House, at one time divided into two cottages.

DATE: Early C17, extended and re-roofed in the C18, restored and a north east wing added following hurricane damage in 1988-9.

MATERIALS: A timber-framed building, refronted in various materials including brick or painted brick to the ground floor and tile-hanging or weatherboarding to the first floor. Hipped tiled roof with gablet to the north west and central brick chimneystack, the brickwork rebuilt above the roof line. The later north east wing is constructed of brick in stretcher bond with sandstone quoins, some weatherboarding to the gable end and tiled roof.

PLAN: Originally a lobby entrance house, probably of two bays with central entrance in the south west, with a further bay added at each end when the building became two cottages. A two storey north eastern wing was added in 1988-9.

EXTERIOR: Two storeys with late C20 top-opening casement windows throughout. The south west former entrance front has a ground floor of painted Flemish bond brickwork and an upper floor hung with C20 pointed tiles. Originally there were four windows but there are now six casement windows on the first floor and five on the ground floor. There is a C20 plank door almost opposite the chimneystack. The north west side of the original wing has a deep sandstone plinth with English bond brickwork above and weatherboarding to the upper floor, two casement windows and a late C20 sandstone porch with hipped tiled roof. The south east side has a painted brick ground floor with tile-hung upper floor, incorporating two diaper-shaped panels in curved tiles. The part of the north east side not concealed by the later extension has stretcher bond brickwork to the ground floor and weatherboarding above. The north west side has a deep sandstone plinth with English bond brickwork above and weatherboarding to the upper floors, a casement window and patio door on the ground floor. The attached late C20 L-wing is constructed of brick with sandstone quoins, some weatherboarding to the gable end and tiled roof.

INTERIOR: The north west ground floor room was originally the kitchen and has a wide open brick fireplace with wooden bressumer retaining the marks of an iron bracket for supporting a cooking pot and retains its original beehive-shaped breadoven. The bay nearest to the fireplace has a chamfered spine beam with lamb's tongue stop. The north western bay has chamfered ceiling beams at right angles to the adjoining bay. The south eastern ground floor room has a smaller fireplace with wooden bressumer, gabled spice recess and some narrow C17 bricks. It has similar ceiling beams. The original rear north west wall is visible internally to its full two-storey height with a curved corner tension brace visible and some herringbone brick infilling. The upper floor has a visible wall frame with jowled corner posts and curved tension braces and internal partitions with jowled posts, tie beams and curved tension braces. Originally there was one heated bedroom above the kitchen which retains a small C17 brick fireplace with wooden bressumer. There are also C18 partitions, probably dating from the subdivision into two cottages. Some rafters and angled queen struts were visible on the upper floor and from these and the limited amount of fabric visible through a small opening into the roof space it appears that the roof was replaced in the C18 with an inserted ridgepiece and some replaced rafters.

HISTORY: This building appears to be in origin an early C17 house of lobby entrance plan, probably extended at each end by a bay when the building was converted into two cottages. The building is shown as divided into two on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map through to the Third Edition Ordnance Survey map. From the 1920s the building was in the ownership of one family for a long period with little alteration. Following damage in the 1987 hurricane extensive repairs were carried out and a north east wing added in 1988-9.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE: The original range is an early C17 timberframed house of lobby entrance plan, probably extended at each end in the C18 when it was converted into two cottages, with the timber frame substantially intact and the interior retaining three C17 fireplaces, one with the original breadoven, a rare survival.

Listing NGR: TQ5361224257

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

296268

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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