Fosters

Reasons for Designation

Fosters, Mattingly Road, was recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: an early-C17, or possibly late-C16 house, which retains a significant proportion of its timber framing, and whose three-bay lobby-entry plan form remains legible * Historic interest: as an example of a vernacular house plan form prevalent in the late C16 and C17

Details

MATTINGLEY

1687/0/10073 READING ROAD 10-FEB-11 Fosters

II House. Early C17, possibly late C16. Altered c1900 and substantially extended in the early C20, with small kitchen extension of 2010. The house is listed principally for the earlier portion, as described below.

MATERIALS: Timber framing with later brick infill; extensions are also constructed in timber frame and brick. Clay tile roofs.

PLAN: The earliest part of Fosters forms the southern part of the present house, and comprises a two-storey, three-bay, lobby-entry plan house, aligned N-S, with a stack between the central and southern bays. The entrance, originally aligned with the stack, was relocated to the north when the house was extended. The original stair, which may have been located at the rear of the stack, no longer survives; access to the upper floor is via the main stair in the northern extension. The extensions comprise a large irregular two-storey gabled cross wing to the N forming a T-plan with the earlier house, and an extension to the S bay of the E elevation.

EXTERIOR: Exposed square timber-framing with diagonal braces and jowelled posts. S elevation has a two-storey canted bay window of c1900. Central bay of the front (W) elevation has a projecting gable, also of c1900, beneath which is a timber mullioned oriel window of the same date. The upper-floor window of the northern bay has been raised to form a hipped dormer, matching that of the extension to the north. S elevation has a two-storey canted bay window of c1900. Windows are mainly early-C20 two-light timber mullions with iron casements.

The early-C20 extensions to the N and E are designed in the Vernacular Revival manner, constructed in pegged oak timber framing with brick infill, with timber mullioned windows and iron casements. The extension to the E elevation of the original house is two-storeys high with an asymmetrical gable.

INTERIOR: The entrance lobby is partitioned on the N side while the S side is open. The original stair, which may have been located at the rear of the stack, no longer survives; access to the upper floors is via the main stair in the northern extension. The S room fireplace has been rebuilt in the C20, and a number of the exposed timbers in this room appear relatively modern. A breach has been made in the east wall of the south bay to link with the extension. The central room has a chamfered axial beam with stops; some of the ceiling joists are also chamfered and stopped. The brick fireplace has a plain timber lintel. The original wall separating the central and northern bays has been removed, and a new wall inserted wall further to the north in order to create a larger room; the remainder of the northern bay has been subdivided and a large section of the flank wall removed to link through to the extension.

At first floor the three-bay plan form is more intact; the main change being the insertion of partitions along the west side to create a corridor linking through to the extension. The oak framing is exposed on the cross walls and the end (N) wall of the original house, and is intact apart from the removal of a section of two tie-beams to create headroom for the corridor. The tie-beam on the S wall has been cut to create the canted bay. The roof has side-purlins and curved wind braces. A number of rafters have been replaced, and there are no side purlins in the southern bay. The tie-beam on the N wall of the S room bears the trace of a door head. The chimneybreast of the central room has an exposed brick hood and cambered timber lintel. The house has several handsome oak planked doors which may not be original to the building; these are also present in the N extension. The interior of the extension is otherwise not of special interest.

HISTORY: Fosters was probably a yeoman farmhouse which became a private dwelling in the late C19 and was subsequently extended. The date of the extensions is not clear from map evidence. An undated early-C20 photograph entitled 'Tudor Cottage' shows that the two-storey canted bay on the south elevation existed by then, plus a single-storey extension on the north end. The house was extended substantially to the north and east.

SOURCES: Roberts, E, Hampshire Houses 1250-1700, Their Dating and Development (2003)

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: Fosters is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * Architectural interest: an early-C17, or possibly late-C16 house, which retains a significant proportion of its framing, and whose three-bay lobby-entry plan form remains legible * Historic interest: as an example of a vernacular house plan form prevalent in the late C16 and C17

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

507835

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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