Description

AWLISCOMBE WOLVERSTONE
SY 10 SW

5/27 Birds Farmhouse
-

GV II

Farmhouse. Late C16/early C17, extended in 1734 (datestone). Stone rubble; slate
roof with crested ridge tiles (formerly thatched); 2 axial stacks and a shallow
projecting right end stack, all with red brick shafts.
Plan: Sited parallel to the road, facing west. The house originated as a 3 room and
through passage plan, lower end to the right (south). The higher end consists of a
hall/kitchen, the stack backing on to the passage, and an unheated dairy at the left
(north). The lower end room was probably a parlour, the stack also backing on to the
passage. The position of the parlour stack is unusual and variations in the
carpentry detail on the ground floor suggest that there may have been some rebuilding
of the house. In 1734 an extra room, probably a second parlour, was added at the
lower (south) end and the house appears to have been re-roofed at the same time as
far as the hall/kitchen stack, leaving the late C16/early C17 roof intact over the
higher end only. There is a stair projection on the rear wall of the hall/kitchen.
The projection has C19 brick quoins and appears to be secondary.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4 window front with an approximately central C19
gabled porch with brick quoins to the through passage. A straight joint marks the
1731 addition at the right end which has a datestone on the rear wall. The first
floor has 2 probably C19 gabled dormers to the left and one at the extreme right with
an earlier raking dormer to the right of the porch. 3 ground floor windows to the
left of the porch, one to the right, all the windows either C19 or 1980s timber
casements, the 1980s casements hardwood with glazing bars. The rear door to the
passage has a timber lintel, the rear stair projection has bullnose red brick quions.
Interior: The hall/kitchen has 3 chamfered cross beams of different designs, one with
a deep chamfer, 2 with more shallow chamfers and stops. The fireplace is partly
blocked but may preserve C16/C17 jambs and lintel and has a rounded bread oven bulge.
The through passage has a chamfered stopped half beam. The lower end room has a
deeply chamfered stopped axial beam, the beam is stopped off against the chimney
breast, indicating that stack and beam are of the same date. The fireplace is partly
blocked but may retain C16/C17 jambs and lintel. The 1734 parlour is plain, with no
exposed carpentry and the higher end dairy is also plain.
Roof: Cruck trusses survive over the higher end, the feet are plastered over but they
are probably jointed crucks. There is limited access to the apex of the roof over the
higher end but as far as could be seen on survey (1987) the roof timbers are not
smoke-blackened. The cruck roof originally extended at least across the passage and
probably over the lower end (stud of a purlin with a scarf joint projecting beyond
the hall stack). The present roof over the lower end is an 'A' frame design with
straight principals and a X apex, probably part of the 1734 phase.
A traditional farmhouse with its historic plan form intact and interior features of
interest.
Group value with Birds Cottage.

Listing NGR: ST1243004274

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26390271

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

• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey