Details
BRENTWOOD
TQ6391 BILLERICAY ROAD, Herongate
723-1/13/172 (North side (off))
Granary/court hall 90 metres
south-east of Heron Hall
GV II
Granary/court hall, now a granary. C17, altered in C20. Red
and blue brick in Flemish bond, roofed with handmade red clay
tiles. Rectangular plan aligned approx N-S, abutting on moat
at N end, abutting on C20 farm buildings to W and E.
EXTERIOR: brickwork of high quality, with blue headers forming
a regular pattern externally, and lime mortar. Blocked window
at 2 levels, and door apertures in W and E walls, all with
segmental brick arches; some in the E wall are concealed
externally by plaster rendering to a height of 4m, some in the
W wall were concealed by piles of grain at time of inspection,
August 1989. In the S wall is a central C20 doorway, above it
an original window aperture with segmental arch, blocked and
in the gable 3 original oval apertures and 3 wrought-iron tie
bars forming the letters J T, and S at the peak. Parapet
gables with plain kneelers. In the N wall are 5 plain loops,
one later aperture, and 2 wrought-iron ties forming the
letters J T. At the NW corner is an original limestone
pilaster with panelled front, moulded base and capital. A
similar pilaster is on the W wall a few metres to the S, now
within the abutting C20 building. Buttresses of various dates
to W and S. In the middle of each long wall is a large
aperture, not original, effectively converting this part into
the threshing bay of a barn; that in the E wall is bridged by
a reused timber lintel. These walls have on the outside a
projecting band of 4 courses, and on the inside a step to
support a floor, now missing. When recorded by the RCHM there
was a porch to the E.
INTERIOR: the roof is original and complete, of high-quality
oak, fully jointed and pegged; 12 bays 2 butt-purlins in each
pitch of each bay, aligned in adjacent bays; intermediate
bird-mouthed collars at half-bay internals; rafters of
horizontal section. In some bays there are opposed pairs of
straight wind-braces inside the rafters, not trenched.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the great size of this building, and the
presence of window apertures in 2 storeys, suggest that
originally it was designed as a manorial court hall, possibly
with an ancillary function as a granary, later converted into
a barn, and now a granary again. There are parallels at
Cressing Temple, Essex, and Crows Hall, Debenham, Suffolk. The
letters J T evidently stand for John Tyrell, but there were
several possible owners of this name. The most likely one was
born in 1593, married in 1624 and 1630, and was knighted by
Charles I in 1627/8. As a Royalist he could not have engaged
in major building schemes under the Commonwealth, but in 1661
he recovered his position and was elected MP for Maldon, dying
in 1675. All features of the building are compatible with
construction in the period 1661-1675.
Listing NGR: TQ6399991711
