Details
TOLLESHUNT MAJOR CHURCH ROAD
TL 91 SW (east side)
3/105 Beckingham Hall
30.12.59
GV II
House. 1543-6, altered in early C17, C18 and early C19. Red brick in English
and Flemish bonds, partly plastered, roofed with slate. Original range in
English bond aligned approx. NW-SE with one axial stack, now of 2 high storeys.
Single-storey block in similar brickwork at NW end, with straight joint between,
and garage beyond. From the SE end of the original range a wing extends to the
SW, of plastered brickwork, probably C16/C17 in origin but altered in early C19
to form an entrance front facing SE. In the W angle an C18 extension in Flemish
bond, on a C16 chamfered plinth in English bond. SE elevation, 4-window range
of early C19 sashes of 16 lights, with some crown glass. Off-centre C19
half-glazed door with marginal lights, in early C19 porch with 2 simple columns
and flat roof. Hipped roof to this block. NE elevation, English bond with
chamfered plinth, wall reducing in thickness at 2/3 height with moulded string
course at this level, identical with that of the gatehouse (item 3/106, q.v.).
Ground floor, 2 C19 casements. First floor, 2 C19 and one C20 casement. C19
door. Above the level of the ground floor windows, and below the string course,
are blocked apertures of one large and 3 small original windows. C18 and early
C19 casements in SW and NW elevations (now the rear angle), and other
alterations in the brickwork. In the plastered NW and NE elevations of the
entrance block the wall reduces in thickness at 2/3 height. Interior fully
plastered. Early C19 stair with stick balusters. The development of this house
is clarified by 3 estate maps in Essex Record Office (T/M 110, T/M 4/3 and T/M
414). The second, of 1637 by Thomas Cosin, shows the house and site in
perspective in some detail, as of E plan facing SW, on the same axis as the
gatehouse, and occupying the full width of the existing walled courtyard; it is
of 2 storeys with 3 axial stacks, but the porch is of 2 lower storeys, and the
main range has 6 gables of irregular sizes. The first is a poor photographic
copy of a lost original of 1616, by John Walker, and shows the main range in
elevation; it is of 3 storeys with 3 axial stacks, and 3 symmetrical feature
gables. The projection does not make clear whether the central porch or 2 side
wings were present at that date. It appears therefore that the main range was
built in 3 fairly low storeys, the brick walls reducing in thickness above the
second storey, with a moulded string course at that level. Between 1616 and
1637 the main range was altered to provide 2 storeys of greater height, but
leaving the 2-storey porch unaltered, and inserting extra gables. The storeys
are of exceptional height still, and the blocked apertures in the NE elevation
show the position of the original middle storey. The third map, of 1766, is a
simple block plan, showing the house greatly reduced in size. 2 barns are shown
in 1637, SW of the gatehouse; one of them is shown in 1766. The manor was
granted to Stephen Beckingham in 1543; richly carved panelling from the house
(sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1914) is dated 1546, and shows that
the main range was completed by that date. The manor remained in the Beckingham
family until 1636, when it was sold to Sir Thomas Adams; at this stage the
Cosins map was prepared. It passed through 3 more owners, and in 1711 was
bequeathed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England,
established in 1649, which at the time of survey, April 1985, still owns it; the
1766 map was prepared for this charity (P. Morant, The History and Antiquities
of Essex, 1768, I, 390). Therefore Beckingham Hall ceased to be used as a great
house in the C17 or early C18, and before 1766 had suffered major damage or
dereliction which destroyed the NW wing and the NW part of the main range,
leaving the L-shaped fragment which survives in altered form, re-orientated to
face SE.
Listing NGR: TL9098211264
