Description

PURLEIGH FAMBRIDGE ROAD
TL 80 SE
(east side)
2/89 Old Redgate Farmhouse
­ II
House. C16, altered in C20. Timber framed, plastered with exposed frame and
imitation framing, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. Comprises the 2-bay
crosswing of a hall house which formerly extended to the N, facing W, with a C20
rear extension. 2 storeys. Ground floor, one C20 casement and one restored
late C16 window of 3 lights with moulded mullions and modern glazing. First
floor, one C20 casement. C20 door at front of lean-to porch on left return.
The front elevation is jettied, the joists sawn off square below the bressumer.
Much of the exposed studding is original, but some re-used timber has been
introduced since 1970, and the external 'Suffolk' bracing is not authentic.
Mortices and free tenons indicate the former existence of a large oriel window
below the jetty, with 3-light windows to each side, only one of which is now
present. On the first floor, the present window replaces an original window of
similar size, and there is evidence of a former 3-light window to each side, now
studded over. The end collar and collar-purlin of a crownpost roof are exposed.
The left return (which formerly abutted on the hall) has been extensively
altered, including the insertion of studding, and a re-sited window with ovolo
mullions, but 2 'Suffolk' tension braces trenched inside the studs of the upper
storey are original. The original rear wall is now entirely open, but mortices
indicate that it probably had an original chimney, whether of brick or timber
framing. The right girt has diamond mortices of a former window. Jowled posts.
Chamfered binding beam with roll stops. Plain joists of horizontal section,
jointed to it with soffit tenons with diminished haunches (probably plastered to
the soffits from the outset). No wallplate scarfs. Crownpost roof with
chamfered rectangular posts, chamfered axial bracing, collar-purlin with simple
splayed and tenoned scarf, the remainder rebuilt in softwood. Good series of
carpenter's assembly marks, mainly scribed, but chisel-cut on the wallposts and
braces. The constructional features are consistent with a date in the second
half of the C16, probably c.1570. The Ordnance Map of 1896 shows a N wing,
possibly the former hall, demolished before the 1920 edition. The house has
been extensively restored since 1970. Before this it was weatherboarded, and
was associated with a farm of 66 acres. Report and measured drawings by S.
Potter deposited in Essex Record Office.

Listing NGR: TL8605400744

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26621827

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

• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  Hampshire: South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Suffolk: West: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Hertfordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)