Description

TL64 SE STEEPLE BUMPSTEAD CHURCH STREET
2/57 The Gun House, (formerly
7/8/52 listed as Parsonage
Farmhouse)
GV II*

Hall house, C15 or earlier, extended in C16 and Cl9. Mainly timber framed and
plastered, partly of painted brick in English bond, roofed with handmade red
clay tiles. 3-bay hall aligned NE-SW, C15 or earlier. 2-bay SW crosswing of
brick, late C16, with contemporary external chimney stack on SW wall. 3-bay
NE crosswing jettied on 3 sides, with central chimney stack, c.1600, forming
an H-plan. Stair tower in S angle, c.1600. C19 single-storey extension to
SE of SW wing. 2 storeys and attics in NE wing, one storey and attic in hall
range, 2 storeys in SW wing. NW elevation, half-glazed door, 2 C20 casement
windows, 2 C20 double-hung sash windows. The NE wing has a moulded bressumer.
The SW wing is splayed at the ground floor with a blocked original window in
each splay, one exhibiting a 2-centred arch, and has a jetty above. First
floor, 3 C20 casement windows, of which one is in a gabled dormer. Attic floor,
one C19/20 casement window. Grouped diagonal shafts on SW stack, rebuilt at
top. The interior has jowled posts and heavy studding. The hall has an
internal jetty at the NE end, a rare feature in Essex, and the line of the
cross-entry below it is still in use. There is exposed studding with display
bracing at the SW end, at ground-floor level. A floor is inserted on pegged
clamps, late C16. The main tiebeam is steeply cambered, originally with deep
arched braces which have been cut back. Originally the roof was of crownpost
construction, but it has been rebuilt in the C17 in clasped purlin form, leaving
a few pairs of smoke-blackened rafters in situ. At the NE end the upper studs
retain original plastered wattle and daub infill, heavily smoke-blackened.
The SW crosswing has a plain-chamfered binding beam with lamb's tongue stops,
and late C16 oak panelling on the NE wall. There is similar panelling on the
SE wall of the hall. The NE crosswing is divided at both floors into 2 and
one bays, with an arched doorhead between them on the first floor, partly
obscured by modern timber. The binding beams are plain-chamfered with lamb's
tongue stops, with plain joists of square section. On the upper floor there
is arched bracing trenched inside the studding. There is a C17 inserted ceiling
above the first floor, on plain-chamfered beams with lamb's tongue stops. The
roof is of clasped purlin construction. This house was originally arranged
with the service end to the NE, the parlour/solar end to the SW. In the late
C16 the original parlour/solar end was demolished and replaced by the present
brick wing. A chimney stack was inserted near the SW end of the hall (which
now terminates below roof level) and a floor was inserted in the hall. About
the end of the C16, as standards of domestic accommodation continued to rise,
the original service end was demolished and the present NE wing built as parlour
and solar, reversing the earlier arrangement of the house. In the C19 a service
wing was added to the SW wing, and it still retains that function. The
position, only 60 metres from the church, suggests that it was a priest's house
originally, and the former name confirms that it became a parsonage after the
Reformation. RCHM 16.

Listing NGR: TL6795641029

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17557091

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Derbyshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Yorkshire: York and the East Riding (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper