Summary
House, dating to at least the C17, with later additions.
Reasons for Designation
Oak House, Blackham is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* a pre-1700 dwelling that retains a significant proportion of the original building fabric, including various elements of its original timber framing;
* some of the later adaptions, including the addition of a rear lean-to, illustrate well the evolution of the building and changing living requirements.
Historic interest:
* the surviving historic fabric, including at least C17 carpentry, provides good evidence for the local vernacular building traditions.
History
Oak House has been reported to date from 1475 (ESHER_MES26013); however, the original source of this attribution is unknown. It is recorded as being on the site of a late post-medieval settlement dating to the C17 or earlier. The building includes the remains of two external first-floor openings retaining diamond-set square wooden mullions, and an internal diamond-set square mullion window exists in the former rear wall. The visible framing on the first floor includes jowled posts and straight braces. Based on the available evidence of current and previous historic fabric, the building dates to at least the C17. The earliest phase of Oak House was a timber-framed, single-pile range. A lean-to was later added to the north. The building's ground floor has been underbuilt in brick.
Oak House is shown on the Withyham Tithe Map of 1842 and is recorded as a cottage and garden, in the ownership of William Edwards, and occupied by William Crowhurst. The building continues to appear with a similar footprint on subsequent Ordnance Survey Maps. In 1996 planning permission was granted to alter the internal layout to provide a larger kitchen and utility room, relocating the bathroom, a new shower room, and safer staircases. In 1997 conditional permission was granted for the insertion of dormer windows and internal alterations. A dormer window was subsequently added to the east side of the roof; it is unclear to what extent the approved internal alterations were carried out. During the 1990s a conservatory was added to the east side of the building. In 2022, the external windows were all replaced with double-glazed hardwood units.
Details
House, dating to at least the C17, with later additions.
MATERIALS: timber-frame building; the ground floor has been underbuilt in brick and the first floor is clad in weatherboarding, topped by a hipped tile roof with tall brick chimneys.
PLAN: a three-bay building with a rectangular footprint on an east-to-west axis.
EXTERIOR: a two-storey building with an attic level. The ground floor has been underbuilt in brick laid in Flemish bond. The first floor is clad in weatherboarding. The windows are an irregular arrangement. In 2022, the external windows were replaced with double-glazed hardwood units; two of the first-floor openings retain diamond-set square wooden mullions. On the front elevation is a timber-frame tiled pitched-roof porch. The building is topped by a large roof which is hipped to the east and half-hipped to the west; there is a pitched-roof dormer at the east end. To the rear are two tall side chimney stacks, and a single-storey brick lean-to with a tile-catslide roof. Attached to the east side of the building is a late-C20 single-storey conservatory.
INTERIOR: there is a large amount of exposed timber within the building; some of the timbers have been replaced with later wood, and there is also evidence of some reused timbers.
The main range has three bays. The entrance door opens into the central bay, consisting of the hallway which includes a chamfered and stopped post, exposed timber-frame walling and a straight-flight staircase. On either side of the hallway are cross beams which are shared with the flanking rooms; the beams support the exposed ceiling joists which span each of the three ground-floor bays. The east room (kitchen) includes a brick fireplace; a timber bressumer has recently (2022) been removed. A large opening has been knocked through the former east-end wall to provide access to the late-C20 conservatory. The west room contains a substantial spine beam and joists, as well as a large brick inglenook fireplace with a small window on one side, and topped by a timber bressumer. To the rear is the lean-to which has an exposed roof structure that consists of a raking strut and rafters supported by a purlin.
The first floor includes three bedrooms. At this level, the timber framing within the external walls is visible; it includes tension braces, wall plates, and jowled posts. There is also at least one further exposed spine beam and several ceiling joists. Within the original rear wall at first-floor level, there is a historic window opening with diamond-set square mullions, this overlooks the rear lean-to.
A winder stair leads up to the attic level which has been subdivided to create two further rooms. Most of the timber roof structure is visible, including a pair of raked queen-post trusses, a pair of purlins, collar beams, and rafters.
This list entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 16 June 2023 to update details in the description
