Pigeon Hill Farmhouse

Summary

House, dating to around C15, former cross-passage house with open hall, floored over, with later extension to the south.

Reasons for Designation

Pigeon Hill Farmhouse, Woolbeding, South Downs, West Sussex is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* this former cross-passage house, of around C15 origins is a good example of the early local vernacular with its substantial rubble stone walls, steeply pitched hipped room and internal joinery;
* it retains a significant proposition of good-quality internal early building fabric, with strong evidence for the cross-passage screen including the remains of a pair of ogee arches, the internal jetty and principal roof trusses;
* the surviving building fabric illustrates well the evolution of the dwelling, including the floor inserted over the central hall and central chimney-stack, and the later southern extension.

Historic interest:

* it contributes well to an understanding of local building traditions, as well as reflecting changing standards of living which are highly characteristic of the evolution of early houses of this type.

History

Pigeon Hill Farmhouse is located in Woolbeding on the South Down. The surviving early building fabric strongly indicates that the farmhouse is of around C15 or earlier origins. At the north end of the building, the former upper end would have originally consisted of a ground-floor parlour with a private first-floor room above (known as the solar); this first-floor level projects slightly into the central former open hall, where it is carried on an internal jetty. Towards the south end are the remains of an internal screen with ogee door heads, beyond which would have been the dwelling’s service end. The original roof consisted of two closed trusses on either side of an arched-brace truss, formerly open over the hall. The steeply-pitched roof was probably originally thatched and later recovered by tiles. In around the C16 or C17, a first-floor was inserted over the hall. A fireplace was also inserted; the current brick structure may have replaced an earlier stack. In the south-end bay, the floor and ceiling are at a different level from the rest of the house. This end has either been extended or rebuilt; the first-floor boards indicate that this was in around the C18.

The site of Pigeon Hill Farm is shown on an early-C18 survey of Woolbeding (1724). The Tithe Map (1839) marks the site as Pigeon Hill Farm and shows the farmhouse with the same footprint as the current building. To the north is an attached line of farm buildings is depicted. There was a further detached farm building to the north-east and a small square detached building to the south-east. Late-C19 Ordnance Survey (OS) maps show that the farm building attached to the north of the farmhouse had been partially rebuilt to form the current cart shed structure and part of the stable range. The threshing barn to the north of the farmhouse is depicted with a larger footprint with a small wing (not extant) to the north-east. By the late-C20 the detached farm building on the north-east side of the farmyard had been replaced by an open-fronted shelter.

Details

House, dating to around C15, former cross-passage house with open hall, floored over, with later extension to the south.

The attached range of agricultural buildings* is not included.

MATERIALS: the farmhouse’s external walls are rubble sandstone with large stone quoins, topped by a hipped roof covered by clay tiles and with two brick stacks.

PLAN: the farmhouse is on a north-south alignment. It is a former cross-passage hall house, with an off-centre hall (with later inserted ceiling and chimney stack), and a later/ rebuilt south-end bay.

EXTERIOR: the farmhouse has two storeys; there is a central chimney-stack over the roof ridge and a tall stack rising from the north end of the southern pitch. The east and west elevations have asymmetrical fenestrations. The openings are of various dates, many with cambered-brick or concrete heads and lintels, and the frames are largely C20 casements. On the ground floor at the north end of the east elevation is a door. Adjacent are two windows, the most southerly is in the probable location of the entry to the former cross passage. Further south is another door and beyond is a blocked window. On the first floor are three flat-roof dormers with a further window. The south elevation has two ground-floor and one first-floor windows; the first-floor level of this elevation is clad in tiles. At the south end of the west elevation is a pair of French windows. Further along, there is a door that corresponds with the location of the former cross-passage. There are two further ground-floor and four first-floor windows. The north elevation is blind and largely obscured by the attached cart shed.

INTERIOR: the ground floor retains the remains of a cross-passage plan with a later extension/rebuilt bay to the south. At the north end is the former upper end, currently (2022) in use as a kitchen. A partition with a floor plate and posts (plastered over) incorporates a C20 door that leads into the former open hall. Along the northern wall is the end of an internal jetty with round-end jetty joists under a jetty plate. Above the jetty are the later inserted ceiling joists. Within the southern wall is a large brick inglenook fireplace with a bread oven to the east: the stove is C20. Above the brick fireplace is the blocked opening of an earlier chimney hood. An off-centre plank door leads into the former cross-passage. The back of the brick fireplace, with substantial stone quoins, runs along the north side of the passage. In the west wall, next to the stairway, are the deeply-chambered stone returns of the cross-passage’s southern doorway, with a timber lintel above. The former timber-frame passage screen on the south side has been partially removed. Part of the timber frame survives at the west end, including the top arch of a former doorway. Further along, only the top timber beam of the passage screen survives. At the centre are the tops of a pair of ogee arches flanking a central timber key which appear to be the remains of two screen doors. At either end of the beam are the bases of a pair of truss braces. Further south, in the former lower end, is a later partitioned bathroom. The ground-floor room in the south-end bay is at a lower level; it includes a C20 fireplace within the south-west chimney stack.

A straight-flight pine staircase, along the centre of the west wall, leads up to the first floor which consists of a row of rooms accessed by an off-centre hall. There are several wide timber floorboards at this level. The floor over the hall room is at a higher level than the flanking flooring. The stone walls are topped by exposed wall plates. There are three principle crown-post trusses. The north-end truss has a straight tie beam. The truss over the former open-hall has an arched-brace tie (the eastern brace survives); there is some evidence of smoke blackening on this truss. The brick stack rises on the side of the hall truss, incorporating a cast-iron fireplace on its north side. There is a plank door with strap hinges within a later partition; this may have been reused from elsewhere in the building. There are also C20 and C19 doors at this level. To the south is the third truss with a straight tie and some exposed timber-framing including studs and an arched brace. The south-end bay has a higher ceiling level and thinner floorboards, and there are later timber posts supporting the ceiling.


* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest. However, any works to these structures and/or features which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require Listed Building Consent (LBC) and this is a matter for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to determine.

Sources

Other
Map of the Manor of Woolbeding in the County of Sussex (1724)
Woolbeding Tithe Map (1824)
First Edition Ordnance Survey (1873; 1:2500)
Third Edition Ordnance Survey (1912; 1:2500)

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