Place House

Details

TL 6730 GREAT BARDFIELD HIGH STREET (south-east side)

8/189 Place House 2.5.53

GV II*

House. Late C14/early C15, altered in C16 and C18. Timber framed, plastered, with some exposed brick nogging and some plastered brick facing, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. Complex plan consisting of (1) 3-bay hall range facing NW, with Cl6 axial stack at left end of middle bay, (2) a 2-bay crosswing to the right, originally the parlour/solar, (3) in front of left end of hall range, a mid-C16 2-storey porch, originally jettied on 3 sides, now underbuilt, (4) to left, a mid-C16 block of 2 parallel ranges aligned with street, with 2 C18 external stacks on left return wall, (5) extending to rear of it, C16 3-bay service wing, with C19 external stack to left, (6) C18 2-storey extension in rear angle. 2 storeys. NW elevation, ground floor, splayed bay of late C19 sashes of 2-4-2 lights, 2 C19 sashes of 6 lights and one of 10 lights. First floor, 2 C18 sashes of 12 lights with crown glass, 2 mid-C19 sashes of 6 lights. Half-glazed door in C18 doorcase with 2 Roman Doric engaged columns, panelled architrave with carved lion's head; and embellished cornice. The left return wall is jettied as far as the second stack, with a moulded bressumer, 2 plain brackets, and a corner post richly carved with a floral design and 'W.B. Mense Aprilis A. Dni. 1564' in high relief, relating to William Bendlowes, 1516-84, serjeant-at-law (S. Hyland, An Elizabethan Self-Made Man of Law, Essex Countryside, March 1983, 22-4). The lower storey of the left return wall is close-studded with original brick nogging arranged in opposed triangles. Beyond the second stack there is an early C19 bow window of 3 sashes, and beyond, 2 C17/C18 2-light windows each with a wrought iron casement and early glass with rectangular leading. The right return wall of the 2-storey porch is faced with brick, enclosing the jetty, and plastered, with a mid-C16 window at first-floor level consisting of 3 round-headed lights, chamfered and plastered, with early glass and diamond leading. On left corner an C18 wrought iron lantern bracket with twisted stem. The interior of the right crosswing has jowled posts, short arched braces of wide section to the cambered tiebeam, and a central crownpost of octagonal section with broach stops. The upper part is concealed by an inserted ceiling without access, but it is likely that the original roof is complete. The hall range is wholly plastered internally, the axial beam of the inserted floor boxed in; it is not clear how much remains of the medieval structure, but the height (one storey with attic) suggests that it has not undergone major rebuilding. At the S corner there is a doorway rebated for the original door into the parlour, and a mortice for an associated draught screen. The 2-storey porch has 2 dragon beams with plain stops, and exposed plain joists of horizontal section. In the right wall at ground floor level there is an arched recess, possibly for an inserted hearth, although there is no indication of a flue above, or perhaps for a recessed cupboard. This porch, jettied on 3 sides, pre-dates the brick wall on the right which conceals one jetty and which itself is dated by the mid-C16 triple window. To the left, the jetty has been incorporated in the floor structure of the wing dated 1564. An axial beam is chamfered with lamb's tongue stops, and from its other end a dragon beam is morticed, chamfered with step stops. The joists are plain and of horizontal section. Posts in this, wing are chamfered with step stops. The upper room is lined with early C17 oak panelling. The twin roofs are of clasped purlin construction with arched wind bracing. The rear service wing has jowled posts, arched braces to the tiebeams, and a straight stair of solid treads. The development of this unusual house can be expressed in 5 phases (1) originating in the late C14 or early C15 as a conventional hall house of half-H plan, the parlour/solar wing to the SW still present, the service wing to the NE (demolished) nearest to the associated farmyard, (2) in the mid-C16 a chimney stack and floor were inserted in the hall, and the 2-storey porch was added at the end of the cross-passage, (3) in 1564 the original service crosswing was demolished and replaced by the present NE wing, which became the new reception end of the house, the original parlour/solar wing reverting to an inferior function, (4) then or soon afterwards, the present service wing was built, extending along the side of the farmyard, (5) the addition of an extra room at each floor, in the rear angle, underbuilding of the front jetty, and other superficial alterations of the Cl8. This house retains an unusual number of early features. The use of different types of chamfer stops is of particular historical interest, providing firmly dated evidence of the introduction of the lamb's tongue stop in Essex RCHM 21. - -

Listing NGR: TL6741030339

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

115328

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Hyland, S, Essex Countryside in An Elizabethan Self Made Man of Law, (1983), 22-4

Other
An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex North West, (1916)

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