Walters Farmhouse

Summary

A two-storey timber-framed late 15th to early 16th century house, altered in around the 17th century and late-19th century.

Reasons for Designation

Walters Farmhouse, High Street, Brenchley, erected in the late-C15 to early-C16 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a late-C15 to early-C16 house retaining a significant proportion of original fabric, particularly in its timber frame, roof structure, and smoke bay.

Historic interest:

* the combination of smoke bay and crown post roof structure reflects a short period of technological change in vernacular building construction during the late-C15 to early-C16.

Group value:

* with ‘The Old Workhouse’ located immediately to the east (Grade II*, National Heritage List for England (NHLE) entry 1250070).

History

Walters Farmhouse originally formed part of the Moatlands Estate and was likely constructed during the ownership of Sir Walter Roberts (1438 – 1522) who inherited the estate in 1470. The building appears on a map of 1647, with the adjoining fields to the south annotated as ‘Upper Walters’ and ‘Lower Walters’. Due to its plan form, construction, and positioning, it is plausible that Walters Farmhouse was not originally built as a house, but possibly rather as an annex, such as a detached kitchen, to the larger ‘The Old Workhouse’ located immediately to the east (Grade II*) but this has not beeen substantiated.

The building appears to have originally been constructed as a half-floored hall with a first floor level to the west end and open to the roof to the east, with a smoke bay between. There is evidence of two main campaigns of subsequent refurbishment works. In the C17 the layout was altered to a lobby-entry plan form with internal doors being added or replaced throughout, and a chimney stack being inserted into the smoke bay. In the late-C19 the staircase was replaced; the front, side, and rear elevations were infilled and overclad in brick, tile, and weatherboard, the fireplace was rebuilt, and a brick floor laid in the parlour.

Some minor alterations undertaken in the C20 include repairs to the top section of the chimney stack, fireplace, and to the western end wall, flooring laid in the smoke bay and ground floor service rooms, along with some replacement fenestration.

Details

A two-storey timber-framed late-C15 to early-C16 building, altered in around the C17 and late-C19.

MATERIALS: of timber frame construction, the ground floor of the front and rear walls have been infilled with exposed brick between the primary timbers, with hung clay tiles on a partially rebuilt timber frame above. The side elevations are entirely timber framed, with the east elevation finished in hung clay tiles, and the west clad in painted weatherboard on a ragstone plinth. The roof is covered with clay tiles.

PLAN: the house has a rectangular footprint, running parallel to the High Street on an east-west axis, and with a lobby-entry plan form, accessed from a centrally positioned front door. A central smoke bay and inserted chimney stack separates a parlour to the west from two smaller rooms to the east that probably formed the service end historically.

EXTERIOR: the front elevation (facing north) comprises two and a half bays; a full bay situated either side of a central half bay. The ground floor is constructed from red brick laid in a Flemish bond with penny-rolled pointing and separated by a three-course brick corbel and cogging from decorative scalloped and plain clay tiles to the first floor that are hung in alternate rows of three. A plain timber plank door is positioned centrally below a small gabled porch canopy on decorative timber brackets. The doorcase has a shallow pointed arch head which is obscured by the hung tiles from the outside. There are four windows to the front elevation, two two-light windows to the ground floor equally spaced either side of the front door, with three-light windows above. The roof is gabled to both ends and at the rear of the ridge is a central brick chimney stack with corbelling.

The rear elevation (facing south) is also constructed from red brick to the ground floor, with the lower courses laid in an irregular bond of various sized bricks, and those above laid in a stretcher bond. The first floor has hung plain clay tiles. There are two rear doors, both slightly inset from each end wall with single light window to the first floor. Visible within the brickwork at ground floor level are the jowl posts of the central half bay. The western post has a mortise, possibly indicating a since removed lean-to structure, and the eastern post has been over-clad with weatherboard.

The western end wall has a ragstone plinth with painted weatherboard cladding above. There is a central two-light window to the ground floor, and another to the first floor serving the rear room.

The entirety of the eastern elevation has clay tiles matching the alternating pattern of those to the front elevation.

Throughout, the fenestration comprises multiple pane timber casement windows with timber sills, apart from the front elevation which have stone sills to the ground floor. Some windows are modern replacements, others are late-C19.

INTERIOR: most of the primary timbers of the historic frame are exposed and present, with very little repair and alteration evident. The wall frames have pairs of jowled posts at the corners and bay divisions, midrails, and at the west end, part of the sole plate survives. The floor frames have chamfered axial and transverse beams with flat step stops. The joists are visible within the ground floor ceilings and appear to be laid on their side, or are square in profile, with plaster infill panels added between. On the first floor are wall plates and tie beams; the west cross frame survives particularly well and has curved upward braces and studs. The roof has a near complete crown post structure, including collar purlin and rafters, smoke-blackened within the smoke bay.

The walls are typically finished in lath and plaster that obscures the scantling, there are areas of plastered brick to the chimney stack, and wattle and daub to the smoke bay on first floor and within the attic.

At ground level, the floor to the parlour is laid in red brick, with C20 timber floorboards to the front service room which cover what appears to be a compacted earth floor below. The centrally positioned chimney stack is constructed from red brick serving a plain open fireplace facing the parlour. There is a built-in cupboard to one side of the fireplace, and a hatch for sweeping on the rear side of the stack.

A set of plain C19 stairs lead to the first floor where the rooms have C20 partitions. The centrally positioned smoke bay has had a C20 timber floor inserted through, and its north and south walls removed on the first floor, but the east and west walls are still present. The smoke bay walls are constructed from wattle and daub, with the western wall heavily smoke blackened and the eastern wall covered over. All four smoke bay walls partially survive within the attic. Through the smoke bay is access to a space that has been partitioned from the larger room to the west, and an infilled doorway through to the smaller room to the east, indicating an alternate previous layout. The flooring to the first floor comprises wide oak or elm boards to the western rooms, with narrower boards of later date laid to the eastern rooms and landing.

Most internal doors are C19 or earlier plank and batten construction with strap hinges.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

432307

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
A Victorian Pictorial Record of Brenchley and Matfield, (1988)
Harris, R, Discovering Timber Framed Buildings, (1978)
Hall, L, Period House Fixtures and Fittings 1300-1900, (2005)
Brunskill, R W, Vernacular Architecture - An Illustrated Handbook, (2000)
Wadmore, J F, Brenchley, its church and ancient houses in Archaeologia Cantiana, Vol. 130, (1880), 127 - 140
Martin, D, Martin, B, Detached Kitchens in Eastern Sussex - A re-assessment of the evidence in Vernacular Architecture, Vol. 28, (1997), 85-91

Websites
The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 5 - Parishes: Brenchley, accessed 21/03/2025 from https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol5/pp280-294

Other
Ordnance Survey mapping from various dates
1841 Tithe map
1647 map of the Glassenbury Estate in Brenchley and Horsmonden

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