Description

TOLLESHUNT MAJOR CHURCH ROAD TL 91 SW (east side) 3/105 Beckingham Hall 30.12.59 GV II

House. 1543-6, altered in early C17, C18 and early C19. Red brick in English and Flemish bonds, partly plastered, roofed with slate. Original range in English bond aligned approx. NW-SE with one axial stack, now of 2 high storeys. Single-storey block in similar brickwork at NW end, with straight joint between, and garage beyond. From the SE end of the original range a wing extends to the SW, of plastered brickwork, probably C16/C17 in origin but altered in early C19 to form an entrance front facing SE. In the W angle an C18 extension in Flemish bond, on a C16 chamfered plinth in English bond. SE elevation, 4-window range of early C19 sashes of 16 lights, with some crown glass. Off-centre C19 half-glazed door with marginal lights, in early C19 porch with 2 simple columns and flat roof. Hipped roof to this block. NE elevation, English bond with chamfered plinth, wall reducing in thickness at 2/3 height with moulded string course at this level, identical with that of the gatehouse (item 3/106, q.v.). Ground floor, 2 C19 casements. First floor, 2 C19 and one C20 casement. C19 door. Above the level of the ground floor windows, and below the string course, are blocked apertures of one large and 3 small original windows. C18 and early C19 casements in SW and NW elevations (now the rear angle), and other alterations in the brickwork. In the plastered NW and NE elevations of the entrance block the wall reduces in thickness at 2/3 height. Interior fully plastered. Early C19 stair with stick balusters. The development of this house is clarified by 3 estate maps in Essex Record Office (T/M 110, T/M 4/3 and T/M 414). The second, of 1637 by Thomas Cosin, shows the house and site in perspective in some detail, as of E plan facing SW, on the same axis as the gatehouse, and occupying the full width of the existing walled courtyard; it is of 2 storeys with 3 axial stacks, but the porch is of 2 lower storeys, and the main range has 6 gables of irregular sizes. The first is a poor photographic copy of a lost original of 1616, by John Walker, and shows the main range in elevation; it is of 3 storeys with 3 axial stacks, and 3 symmetrical feature gables. The projection does not make clear whether the central porch or 2 side wings were present at that date. It appears therefore that the main range was built in 3 fairly low storeys, the brick walls reducing in thickness above the second storey, with a moulded string course at that level. Between 1616 and 1637 the main range was altered to provide 2 storeys of greater height, but leaving the 2-storey porch unaltered, and inserting extra gables. The storeys are of exceptional height still, and the blocked apertures in the NE elevation show the position of the original middle storey. The third map, of 1766, is a simple block plan, showing the house greatly reduced in size. 2 barns are shown in 1637, SW of the gatehouse; one of them is shown in 1766. The manor was granted to Stephen Beckingham in 1543; richly carved panelling from the house (sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1914) is dated 1546, and shows that the main range was completed by that date. The manor remained in the Beckingham family until 1636, when it was sold to Sir Thomas Adams; at this stage the Cosins map was prepared. It passed through 3 more owners, and in 1711 was bequeathed to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England, established in 1649, which at the time of survey, April 1985, still owns it; the 1766 map was prepared for this charity (P. Morant, The History and Antiquities of Essex, 1768, I, 390). Therefore Beckingham Hall ceased to be used as a great house in the C17 or early C18, and before 1766 had suffered major damage or dereliction which destroyed the NW wing and the NW part of the main range, leaving the L-shaped fragment which survives in altered form, re-orientated to face SE.

Listing NGR: TL9098211264

External Links

• Wikidata Q26613576

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Recommended Books

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