80, Walton Street, Walton on the Hill

Summary

Timber-framed lobby-entrance house of c1600, later converted into two cottages.

Reasons for Designation

80 Walton Street, a circa 1600 timber-framed lobby-entrance house of four unequal bays, originally with a smoke bay, later converted into two cottages, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural: a circa 1600 house retaining a significant proportion of original fabric;
* Plan: the four-bay lobby entrance plan including the narrow smoke bay is still readable internally;
* Materials: good quality oak timber-framing and Reigate stone chimneyback;
* Fittings and fixtures: includes three open fireplaces, sockets for original mullioned windows and a series of early C20 oak doors;
* Decoration: chamfered spine beams and floor joists with stops, atropropaic marks and unusual curved carpenters' marks.

History

Although situated near the parish church and said to have been a pre-Reformation rectory (in K R Clew's 'Walton, an illustrated history' of 1968) the visible fabric of the building appears to be of late C16 date. The property appears on the 1839 Tithe Map as No. 216 and is described in the 1841 Tithe Award Schedule as 'two messuages, orchard and garden - 22 perches' (about 669 square yards) owned by Felix Ladbroke. He was a large landowner in the area owning some 700 acres in Walton, including Hurst Farm. It is likely that at that date the property was a pair of tied cottages which were part of Hurst Farm.

By the 1877 First Edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey sheet the building appears to be in single ownership and has a sizeable rear or north-east extension. There is no change in the footprint on the 1896 sheet and by 1914 the only change is a small addition to the north-west. By the Fourth Edition sheet of 1935 however a projecting extension has been added to the eastern half of the front elevation. The current footprint is little changed from this date.

Details

House, at one time divided into two cottages. A circa 1600 house aligned roughly west to east, which was extended to the north-east by 1877 and was refurbished, including a south-east extension, after 1914 and before 1935.

MATERIALS: the original part is timber-framed, clad in render, with an early C20 gabled tiled roof with a central brick chimneystack and a further brick chimneystack on the east side. The northern extension is partly of painted brick.

PLAN: the original plan was a two-storey four-bay lobby entrance house of unequal bays (from west to east 2.30m, 3.10m, 0.95m and 2.50m). The narrow penultimate eastern bay was originally a smoke bay with a chimney inserted probably in the late C17 and the original staircase was probably in the north eastern corner. A further external chimneystack was added to the east either in the later C17 because the narrow smoke bay precluded back to back chimneystacks or in the early C19, when the property was divided into two cottages. This plan was modified by 1877 by the addition of a kitchen to the north and was further modified by 1935 with an extension to the south-east including a staircase-hall.

EXTERIOR: the south or entrance front has four irregularly-spaced windows, all early C20 wooden mullioned windows with leaded lights. The upper floor eastern two bays have hipped dormers and the ground floor projects with a six-light mullioned window and a recessed porch to the right with an oak early C20 studded door. The set back western section has two tripartite windows to the first floor and a similar window to the ground floor but a four-light canted bay on the left hand side. The west side elevation is mainly concealed by a weather-boarded lean-to outbuilding. The north or rear elevation has one C19 mullioned casement window to the upper floor of the western half and two smaller windows and a C20 French window on the ground floor. The eastern part projects with a two-storey gabled painted brick section with a cambered headed casement with a triple projecting window below adjoining a penticed doorcase. The eastern bay has a penticed roof to ground level and a further casement window. The east side elevation has one small C20 casement lighting the staircase.

INTERIOR: the front entrance leads into a small early C20 staircase hall with access into the eastern end bay of the circa 1600 building. This room has a spine beam with a one inch chamfer and square floor joists, an open fireplace with a wooden bressumer and some C20 brickwork and exposed wall frame to the original end and rear walls, including a curved wall brace. The adjoining narrow bay was originally a smoke bay with a lobby entrance. It leads into the western two bays, originally separate rooms, now one large room. This has a C17 open fireplace of Reigate stone with a wooden bressumer. The penultimate bay has a spine beam with one inch chamfers and lambs tongue stops and similar floor joists. The original partition between this room and the end bay has been removed leaving exposed mortices and the end bay has a similar chamfered spine beam but the floor joists are plain. The early C20 eastern staircase leads to the upper floor. The two western bays, originally two rooms, are now one large room with a small fireplace and a cupboard recess adjoining, with old floor boards and exposed queen posts to the partition wall. There are similar queenposts to the upper partition wall between the two end bays. The roof has exposed purlins and slightly curved wind-braces. The wall frame to the rear wall has upright posts, a midrail and some studs. There was probably a bacon loft originally in the smoke bay. The eastern bay of the original building has an exposed wall frame with a midrail, diagonal braces and queenposts. There are mortices for original mullioned windows in this bay. The adjoining room to the east has weathered timbers, proving it was originally an external wall, and a series of curved carpenter's assembly marks. The open fireplaces contain apotropaic marks and there are a number of early C20 ledged and plank doors.

Sources

Other
Exwood, Maurice, DBRG Report no. 1420 "COPTHORNE", 80 Walton Street, August 1976,

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