Description

TL 5562 SWAFFHAM BULBECK HIGH STREET (East Side) 16/127 No. 85 (Appletrees)

II

House of three building periods, including the original open hall, C14-C15, now with stack and floor inserted, mid-late C16 parlour cross-wing and C17 kitchen wing at the rear. Timber-frame and clunch. Tiled and pantiled roofs. Open hall, timber-framed, rendered with a steeply pitched pantiled roof, hipped to the North. The ridge stack is of narrow, red and yellow bricks. One storey and attic. One dormer. The fenestration and a lean-to addition at the front are all C20. The parlour cross-wing, to the South, is also timber-framed rendered with a steeply pitched tiled roof and a ridge stack. Two storeys. There are two C20 windows to the gable end of the cross-wing. The early C17 wing is of clunch but the upper half of the gable end Is of narrow, gault brick. The roof is tiled and has an original gable end parapet on kneelers. The end stack has grouped shafts set diagonally, also early C17. Inside, the open hall is of two bays and three trusses, of which the display truss over the hall has survived. The tie beams are cambered and the principal posts have thickened heads and mortices for arch braces from the posts to the tie beams. The rear wall is intact and there is a straight brace from the post to the wall plate. The roof is of crown-post construction which was partly mutilated when the stack was inserted. The crown post is of "columnar" type with a square base, torus, chamfered corners, astragal and bell shaped capital. There are short, curved braces to the collar purlin and the collar. A substantial number of rafters have survived. They are of lighter scantling and less carpentered than those of the crosswing which are late C16. The whole of the roof and the tie beam are sooted. The side purlin roof over the service bay has been constructed with timber re-used from the original crown-post roof. The parlour wing is a particularly good example. It is in four bays, and the timber-framing is exposed internally showing close studding of substantial scantling. The principal posts have jowled heads and the tie beams are cambered. There are serpentine braces in the side walls similar to those in the rear wall of Mitchell Hall (g.v.). All except one room at first floor, have original ceiling beams with moulded joists and main beams. At ground floor the ceiling of the rear room is intersecting main beams, and these and the joists have five ovolo moulding. The other rooms, including those at first floor, have stop chamfered beams. The stack is of red brick casing to a clunch core. There is an inglenook hearth at the rear with openings for a spice cupboard and a bread oven. The room at the front has a fireplace surround of clunch with a four centred moulded arch on a high base, in a square head. At first floor there is a similar fireplace surround with shaped base stop. There are two original doorway openings in the wing and four ovolo mullion windows with iron standard bars. One window to a closet at the side of the stack has a later window of diamond leaded lights set into the original opening. The ground floor room at the front has traces of original red paint to the studs. The roof is of clasped through public construction with paired wind bracing between the principals and the purlin. The early C17 kitchen wing has an inglenook hearth.

R.C.H.M. (North East Cambs.), p106, mon (11) Fletcher and Spokes: Origin and Development of crown-post roofs: medieval Archaeology, Vol. 18, 1964

Listing NGR: TL5558962342

External Links

• Wikidata Q26459290

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Recommended Books

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Farrow & Ball How to Decorate: Transform your home with paint & paper
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  Kent: West and the Weald: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair