Summary
Hall house. Built in around 1540. In about the late C16 and early C17, the hall range was fully floored over and a chimney inserted into the smoke bay. The house was heavily extended to the rear in broadly around the 1900s and the 1920s. An orangery was added in 2007 which is not of special interest.
Reasons for Designation
Langmans, Woking, a mid-16 hall house, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a significant mid-C16 open hall house, which well illustrates the evolution of this vernacular building type through the smoke bay, central chimney stack and flooring over of the hall;
* for the relatively good survival of the mid-C16 timber frame, including large panels, jowled posts, braces, chamfered spine and ceiling beams, internal jetty, and clasped-purlin roof structure;
* for the good surviving features to the roof including wind braces, queen-struts, smoke-blackened C16 timbers over the former open kitchen and smoke bay, as well as original wattle and daub partitions.
Historic interest:
* as an open hall house which demonstrates nearly 500 years of relatively well-documented history and development from the mid-C16 onwards.
History
Langmans was originally built as a hall house in around 1540. Hall houses followed the tradition of halls built by kings or manorial lords for banqueting and holding court. However, in hall houses the hall was used for everyday meals and often planning farming activities with the family and servants that made up the household. Harris outlines the basic form and suggests that English timber framing may have reached its zenith in the construction of open halls (2012, 31). Hall houses were typically entered from a passage running between a pair of opposing doorways. On one side of the passage would be the service accommodation at the ‘lower’ end of the house; the buttery and pantry. A screen divided this accommodation from the hall, which usually had a central hearth and open fire with smoke passing up through the rafters of the roof. At the ‘upper’ end of the hall was the high table, where the owner sat on a bench, possibly on a dais. A door at this end of the hall would lead through to the solar or private apartments. Hence, the hall was a hierarchical space with the servants at one end and the owner’s family at the other. In the gradual transition from open fires to the adoption of chimneys in houses, a range of timber structures were used to separate smoke off from the rest of the building. A smoke bay was sometimes built as part of the original house from the mid-C16; the hearth under this bay heating the main room or hall. In association with this development, a lobby entry could be placed next to the smoke bay instead of the house having a cross passage. Masonry chimneys were often later inserted within these smoke bays in the C17, and as the house evolved a floor constructed all the way across the upper storey.
The hall house of Langmans is now of four bays but it was originally built of five bays; this is unusual in the area as other large houses of similar date were typically of four bays only. It is likely to have originally been the home of a yeoman farmer. The service end of the house was at the north; the now missing north bay, which would typically have included a buttery and pantry, is thought to have been half or fully floored over. Its former presence is indicated by mortices cut in the end posts and the frame being flush on the inside, implying that it was originally a partition. The next bay along (now the northernmost bay of the house) has a smoke blackened roof and is considered to have been a kitchen with an open hearth. The following two bays formed the open hall; the first was partitioned off above ground floor level to form a smoke bay (now containing a chimney) but the second was open to the roof. The ground floor partition with the southernmost bay, which accommodated the solar, was set back to form an undershot dias; an internal jetty facing the open hall and the floor above containing a bedroom. At a later date, perhaps in the late C16, a floor was inserted across the open hall between the smoke bay and the solar. In around the early C17, back to back chimneys were inserted into the smoke bay, creating a fireplace on each side, and the kitchen floored over, involving the insertion of a new spine beam; the house becoming a then fashionable central chimney house. The original roof of the house is of clasped purlin and wind braced construction and was hipped with a gablet at the south end, later extended out to form a gable, perhaps when the brick outer skin was built on this side in around the 1900s. In the early C20, the central chimney may have been largely rebuilt and a chimney added at the south-east.
The house is shown on John Remnant’s map of 1719, when it was described as ‘Honour’s House’, owned by ‘Edward Honour’. Evidence indicates that Edward’s surname was probably in fact ‘Hone’ (various spellings corrupting the name Hone via Honer into Honour) and that he was employed as a currier; a craftsman in the leather processing industry who dressed and finished the tanned hide. The house is next shown on the tithe map of 1841 with a small extension at the north-west. The fifth (northern) bay may have been extant at that time because the map appears to show an end chimney stack, which would not be necessary for the present end bay, but it is no longer shown on the 1871 OS map. In 1841, the house was owned by Isaac Spooner, and occupied by David Percy, a farmer, who lived there with his wife and three children, James, Mary and Jane. In a census return for 1881, it is described as a farm cottage, which may then have been called ‘Brooking’ or ‘Brooker’. It was occupied by Thomas Langman, aged 59, retired and living with his wife Mary, aged 60. The house soon took his name as it is shown on the 1896 OS map as ‘Langmans’, still then, a farm cottage. By 1912, the house had been extended to the east at the south of the rear elevation and was occupied by an engineer, his family and two servants. The front porch and bay windows were probably added at around this time and appear to be indicated on the 1916 OS map. By 1934, the house had been extended further to the rear with a north and south wing. Between 1984 and 1988, the house was refurbished. A large conservatory or orangery was added to the rear in 2007. Historic building surveys were carried out in 1984 and 1999, and dendrochronology in 2000 (see Sources).
Details
Hall house. Built in around 1540. In about the late C16 and early C17, the hall range was fully floored over and a chimney inserted into the smoke bay. The house was heavily extended to the rear in broadly around the 1900s and the 1920s. An orangery was added in 2007 which is not of special interest and excluded from the listing.
MATERIALS: the hall house is timber-framed with brick infill to the panels and a red clay cambered tile roof. Later additions in red brick with red cambered tile roof coverings.
PLAN: a hall house originally of five bays but now of four bays that include the former kitchen bay (dining room in 2023), a former open hall, and former solar (both combined to form a lounge in 2023). The smoke bay to the open hall contains a chimney adjacent to a lobby entry and the ground floor is fully floored over. There are three bedrooms and a bathroom to the first floor. Extending from the rear is the early C20 south wing which contains a living room and gym beneath two bedrooms and a bathroom. The early C20 north wing comprises a kitchen beneath an office/bedroom, and an attached orangery to the rear.
EXTERIOR: the hall house of about 1540 is of two storeys and four bays orientated north to south under a gabled roof. The main (west) façade rests on a plinth and has five large posts forming the bays, between which are large panels separated by studs and infilled with brick. Several of the upper panels have substantial arch braces. From left (north) to right (south) the respective bays feature the following: a projecting two-storey, early C20 square bay window under a hipped roof; a projecting single-storey, early C20 open porch under a hipped roof; another two-storey, early C20 bay window; and then a two-light, square-leaded casement window to the ground floor and a wooden mullion window to the first floor of the end bay. The latter probably represents the original window form of the house. Each of the bay windows have a set of square-leaded casement and fixed windows to the ground floor and a further set of casements to the first floor. However, the windows to the northernmost bay are of three lights whilst those to the third bay are of four lights. Both bay windows are two casements deep. The space between the upper and lower windows is tile-hung. The entrance porch is two bays deep and set on wooden posts with a low dwarf wall. It leads to a four-panelled door with a square-leaded side light. The hall house roof is covered in cambered clay tiles, above which rises a large chimney ridge stack of four flues. The north gable end has large timber-framed panels infilled in brick and then a ground floor two-light casement, a first floor two-light casement, and a single casement in the gable, all of which are situated left of centre. The south gable end has a brick outer skin of about the 1900s and is also an irregular composition with a two-light, leaded casement window and five-light, leaded casement window to the ground floor and two, two-light leaded casements to the first floor. Separating the ground floor windows is a substantial brick buttress, whilst at the south-east corner is a tall red brick chimney stack.
Attached to the rear of the original hall house is a south wing and a north wing. The south wing is of two phases; the first bay of the south elevation being erected in around the 1900s with a five-light, segmental-headed leaded casement and top-hung window to the ground floor and a five-light, leaded square-headed casement to the first floor. The following three bays were added in around the 1920s and are of lesser interest. These bays have three two-light fixed and casement windows to the ground floor and a three-light casement and a five-light casement to the first floor. The ground floor windows are divided into 24 subsidiary panes by wooden glazing bars but the first floor windows are each formed of a single pane. The gable end of the south wing has an off-centre French window with a transom light to the ground floor and then an off-centre glazed door and casement window to the first floor. There are two casements to the ground floor and a single casement to the first floor of the north elevation of this wing.
The north wing is also of several phases. The first bay of the north elevation was originally added prior to 1841, although it has undergone later alterations, and comprises a half-glazed side door beneath a single-light casement window. The following two bays were added in around the 1920s and are of lesser interest. They comprise a two-storey bay window under a hipped roof and then a boarded door. The bay window has a three-light casement to each floor separated by mock timber-framed panelling. The north gable end has mock framing and a single window to the gable. There is a small, late-C20 infill range between the north and south wings. Extending from the rear of the north wing is an orangery added in 2007 which is not of special interest.
INTERIOR: the main entrance of the hall house leads into a small lobby next to the central chimney which has back to back hearths occupying the former smoke bay. At the north end is the former kitchen (dining room in 2023) which has rough-hewn ceiling joists, measuring 12cm by 10cm laid on edge, and a substantial C17 chamfered spine beam with lamb’s tongue stops. The timbers to this room are unpainted but elsewhere on the ground floor they have been painted black. The inglenook fireplace appears to have been largely rebuilt with a substantial bressummer beam and a bread oven. On the east side of the fireplace there is a small lavatory entered from the adjoining range with modern sanitary ware, fixtures and fittings. Partitioned off from the eastern side of the former kitchen is a C20 straight-flight staircase leading up to the first floor. At the south end of the house is the former open hall and solar where there is a rebuilt inglenook fireplace with a bressummer beam and a mock bread oven. The original partition between the hall and solar was set back to form an undershot dias; an internal jetty facing the open hall, but the partition has been removed and the hall fully floored over, forming one large ground floor room (currently a lounge). The ceiling joists to the former hall bay are 14cm by 10cm laid on edge. Both the spine beam and joists are chamfered and stopped. The joists to the solar are approximately 12cm by 16cm laid flat, and also chamfered and stopped. The posts below the former internal jetty are chamfered and stopped to the top and bottom and on all four sides. All of the stops are curved step. There are original timber wall panels, braces and jowled posts, some with carpenters’ marks, visible internally to the ground and first floor. However, there are also a number of late-C20 straight or machine-cut mock timbers. The main staircase leads up to a first-floor corridor along the eastern side of this range providing access to a bedroom and bathroom over the former kitchen and two bedrooms over the former hall and solar. The massive rough-hewn tie beams have all been truncated along the corridor and the wall plates have also been cut through in two places to provide access to the adjacent wings. All first floor rooms in the original house are ceiled well above the tie beams, including at purlin level, and thus shaped to resemble attics. There are back to back fireplaces to the chimney and back to back cupboards in the former smoke bay serving each of the respective bedrooms. The bedroom at the south end of this range has a brick fireplace at the south-east corner. The first floor bathroom has modern sanitary ware, fixtures and fittings throughout. Floors at this level are currently (2023) concealed by carpets but uneven surfaces to at least some of the rooms may indicate survival of original or historic floorboards beneath. Internal doors to this range appear to date to the C20. The late C20 and early C21 internal fixtures and fittings and sanitary ware to this original mid-C16 range are not of special interest and are excluded from the listing. The house has a clasped purlin roof with curved wind braces and queen struts. It was originally hipped with a gablet at the south end; however, the purlin has been subsequently extended by a rough scarf to form the gable. There appear to be three surviving original wattle and daub partitions in the attic space. The roof timbers over the former open kitchen and smoke bay are blackened, as is at least one of the wattle and daub partitions associated with the original flue. The north end of the roof has queen jacks to the gable. A number of modern machine-cut roof timbers have been inserted to support or supplement the original roof structure.
The south wing has a living room and gym or playroom to the ground floor and two bedrooms and two bathrooms to the first floor. There are modern fixtures and fittings and sanitary ware throughout this wing, including modern reproduction fireplaces and joinery. The north wing contains a kitchen and a bedroom/office accessed via a late C20 spiral staircase, and also contains modern fixtures and fittings throughout. A late C20 single-storey infill between these ranges contains a plant room and utility room, again with modern fixtures and fittings. The internal fixtures and fittings and sanitary ware in the north and south wings, as well as the late C20 infill range, are not of special interest and are excluded from the listing.
EXCLUSIONS
Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that the late C20 and early C21 internal fixtures and fittings and sanitary ware to the original mid-C16 range are not of special interest and are excluded from the listing. The internal fixtures and fittings and sanitary ware in the north and south wings, as well as the late C20 infill range, are also not of special interest and are excluded from the listing. The orangery added in 2007 is not of special interest and excluded from the listing. However, any works to these structures and/or features which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require Listed Building Consent (LBC) and this is a matter for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to determine.
