Description
The house is of three seperate builds: i) a 17th century core with a house place and what is now the kitchen, and two bedrooms above. ii) the sitting room with bedroom above was later added on (late 19th century). iii) The third build consists of the dairy/pantry/buttery with a bedroom above, and the stairs. This wing was added on in 1898 the dipping shed and coach house wre built at the same time).
The bathroom was built as an outshot above part of the kitchen just pre WWI.
The most recent additions to the house (within the last 12 years) is the porch. (There may be some confusion over the dates, Mr Atkinson though that the sitting room and bedroom above were added in 1890, and the diriy and its bedroom in 1902/04, however, Mr Bowes thought the dairy was built on in 1898.
Should any render be removed, joints or openings should be recorded.
WALLS - Stone but not seen since the entire building is cement rendered.
ROOF - Slate laid in diminishing courses and capped by a sandstone ridge. Just the roof space above the house place and kitchen was seen. The roof is held by 5 reused purlins, some hand saw, some machine sawn (?oak and pine). A central timber (approx Late 19th century?) appears to have been added to probide more support to the roof construction. Machine cut rafters and lathes, torched roof. Brick chimney stack si visible in the roof space.
The wing's purlins rest on one of the main purlins above the hosue place. At the gable there are consul brackets below the barge boards. Half of the bathroom comes under the mian roof space, but the N half is a lean-to roof with 2 purlins.
3 chimneys, concrete render, clay pots, water tabling.
PORCH - Added within the last 12 years. It is rough cast rendered up to a metre high, and then paned with glass for another metre, up to a lean-to glass roof.
The majority of the windows and doors in the house are approximately late 19th century, the windows have splays and the doors are of pine, unless stated otherwise.
KITCHEN - Mr Bowes called this the passage way, perhaps it was once the buttery? It now contains modern kitchen fittings. To the left of the window is a niche in the wall with shelves. The N wall of the 17th century house can be seen, a gap has been cut in the wall to lead to the window and hte pantury. The W side of the wall bulges out at the bottom to suggest an uneven stone wall. There was an aga in the kitchen which has been removed but the remains of hte flu can be seen outside.
DIARY/BUTTERY/PANTRY - Walls and ceiling plasttered and painted. Floor - large slate flags. Air vent to the right of the window, in the N wall. Six meat hooks in the ceiling. Large slate sconces at E and W walls and one small one below.
HOUSE PLACE - Walls - papered. Floor - originally flagged, now 1950's tiles. Ceiling - papered between beams. One main large reused oak beam ('ships timbers') with a wooden plank attached to it held by large metal pins (this is a boot shelf to keep boots off the floor). 11 smaller oak beams run across from the main beam, to the W they are original and have various hooks stck into them, such as blacksmiths nails, horns and rats tail window latches, to the E, the beams are modern replacements.
According to Mr Bowes, the fireplace was originally an inglenook with a water boiler, oven and a fire crane. Theis was replaced by a range, and then by the present fireplace hwich has a slate surround this was installed by the Atkinsons. An account stubb that Mr Bowes has may relate to the range; Nov 7 1892 Mr Robt. Casson Fire range and work œ12.15.0
To the right of the fireplace is a spice cupboard built into the wall. There is also a stained oak panelled corner cupboard, with a brass key hole.
Possibly there wouldh ave been a ladder to reach upstairs befor any wing was added on, just in front of the door. No evidence can be seen, nor of another point of access (short of removing carpets to see possible marks in floor joists above).
Two slate flagged steps lead down out of the door to the bottom of the stairs and into th late 19th century part of the house. The remains of the sitting room outer wal can be seen on the ceiling. The wall was knocked down to make access to the new wing, this is also evident on the first floor by a 'lintel' also.
SITTING ROOM - This room becam the front room, when the door was made into the front door. Walls - papered. Floor - carpet, plain wooden skirting boar. Ceiling - plastered and pianted, as is the beam which runs along the W wall, out of hte room and into the original late 19th cnetury back wall at the bottom of the stairs.
Fireplace - Victorian with a blakc and white marble surround, tiled splays and a cast iron hood with a dragon design.
There is a niche to the right of the fireplace built into the wall, this is now shelves. The N wall fo the room is set back from the doorway. This space would have taken up by the staircase which lead up to the end of the corridor upstairs, again the same thing is echoed upstairs.
UNDER THE STAIRS. - One glagged step leads under the stairs. Walls - plastered and painted. Ceiling - plastered and painted, and staircase. Floor - flagged.
STAIRCASE - A Victorian /? Edwardian dog leg staircase of stained pitch pine with newel posts and balusters, wooden skirting board.
FIRST FLOOR - Opposite the staircase is bedrrom A which lies above the sitting room. Outside the door is an opening to the roof space. Walls and ceiling papered, floor boards and carpet, wooden skirting boards. Where the stairs once were, there is now a modern built in wardrobe. Victorian fireplace, wooden surrounds (painted white), blocked by wooden board. As one leaves the room, to the left is a corridor which leads back into the original house. The wall to the ridght is the external wall, and to the left is horizontally laid pannelling, now wall papered. Ceiling and wall papered. floor boards and carpet, wooden skiritng boards.
BEDROOM B - Walls and ceiling papered, floor boards and carpet, wooded skirting boards. There is a slight bulge in teh E wall from the chimney stack.
Further down the corridor, built above the kitchen and house place is bedroom C. Just inside the door is another opening to the roof space. Walls and ceiling papered. Floor boards, lino and carpet, wooden skirting boards. Part of the room has been partitioned off to make space for hte bathroom which was added jst befroe the 1st WW.
BATHROOM - Walls tiled, plastered and painted. floor boards and carpet, wooden skirting boards. Ceiling flat and palstered and a lean-to with 2 painted purlins. Modern bathroom fittings, and an airing cupboard built into the wall.
BEDROOM D - Built above teh dairy/ pantry in the wing is this bedroom, it is raised slightly higher than the rest of the first floor, with a step up into the room. Decorated fireplace surround, painted white with black grate and Victorian tile surround. Floor boards and carpet, walls and ceilign are plastered and painted.
Mr Bowes had mentioned a wattle and daub wall being removed in the house somewhere.
(NT VBS Surveyor; 1995)