Description

ILSINGTON SX 87 SW 8/91 Rora Farmhouse -

- II

Farmhouse. C16 or possibly earlier, with added lean-to at rear. Roughcast exterior; stone ground storey with cob above, but upper part of left-hand gable and probably also the right-hand gable have been rebuilt in stone. Upper storey of entrance porch is timber-framed. Thatched roof, half-hipped. In rear wall, off- centre to left, a large projecting chimneystack of big granite blocks; late C19 or early C20 red brick shaft on top. Rounded oven projection at base of stack. In right-hand gable wall and in rear wall of lean-to, a yellow brick stack of late C19 or early C20. 3-room and through passage plan with narrow unheated inner room; fireplace in rear wall of hall, 2-storied entrance porch in front. 2-storeys, 4- window front, although there is now no second storey window in the right-hand bay. Windows have C19 or early 020 wood casements with 2, 3 or 6 panes per light, except for the left-hand ground storey window which has no glazing bars. Open fronted porch in second bay from right has stone side-walls; timber framed upper storey is known to have close-studding beneath plaster, weathered as if it had originally been exposed. Plank door within porch. Large buttress against right-hand gable. Interior has preserved much of its C19 character, with irregular plaster wall surfaces. Through-passage retains part of a C16 or C17 timber-framed partition on the hall side. Hall has chamfered upper floor beam with large convex stops, laid parallel to the ridge. Beneath it at the upper end is a large, carved wood console, probably early or mid C17. At upper end is a plank-and-muntin screen with chamfered studs having straight-cut stops; studs are plain on reverse side to inner room. In the ceiling just in front of the screen on the hall side is a slight projection, possibly covering an internal jetty into a medieval open hall. Fireplace in rear wall has monolithic granite jambs, chamfered with worn pyramid stops at the foot. Lintel, set high up, is plastered in, but present owner says there is a massive piece of granite underneath. Projecting from the wall above; just under the ceiling, is a shaped wooden bracket, probably supporting the hearth of a late C16 or C17 fireplace on the upper floor. Second storey is open to the collars, though the timber of partitions and roof are mostly plastered in; apex of roof is not accessible, but owner does not recall seeing smoke-blackened thatch during re- thatching. The partition between rooms over lower room and through-passage is fixed to a closed truss; the soffit of the tie-beam at the point where a door has been cut through shows pointed stake-holes for wattle and daub. Partition between rooms over passage and hall, which is not fixed to a truss has a similar horizontal timber with round stake-holes beneath and fragments of pegged studwork at a lower level. The partition also seems to contain 2 moulded door jambs, now concealed under wallpaper. Room over hall has a plastered roof truss with curved feet to the principal rafters, which must be either raised or jointed crucks.

Listing NGR: SX8012774315

External Links

• Wikidata Q26533576

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Recommended Books

• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Nottinghamshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Georgian Style and Design for Contemporary Living
• 
  Sussex: West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)