Summary

House, built in the early 19th century on the site of an earlier building.

Description

House, built in the early C19 on the site of an earlier building.

The short early-C19 wing* (altered in mid-C20), late-C19 and C20 extensions* to the north, the early-C20 pitched-roof extension* to the east, and the attached boundary walls* are not included in the listing.

MATERIALS: chalk cob walls on a brick plinth. The external walls have been re-rendered in cement. A section of cob wall above the central door was replaced with rendered brick and a concrete lintel inserted. The aprons below the windows on both floors have also been rebuilt in brick and concrete block. The building sits under a hipped slate roof with brick stacks at either end.

PLAN: a cob building which has a two-room plan on either side of a central hallway.

EXTERIOR: a two-storey building with a basement level. There is a symmetrical three-window front elevation. The central entrance is flanked by a pair of ground-floor windows, and there are three first-floor windows above, all with rendered block sills. The eight-over-eight sash windows date from around the mid-C20 and replaced earlier sashes; the multi-casement door is also a C20 replacement. The hipped slate roof has brick chimney stacks at either end. The flat-roof mid-C20 porch* is not included in the listing.

INTERIOR: there is a central hallway flanked by two ground-floor rooms, with brick internal walls. Below the west end of the building is a basement level with brick walls, accessed via a set of brick steps; sections of joists above the basement level have been replaced in the C20 and additional supports added. There are wooden floorboards on both storeys. Within the hallway, there is timber panel wainscoting around the walls and further panelling at the north end. The ground-floor windows within the front elevation have timber panel shutters. The timber skirting is of various phases. The ground-floor east room has an applied cornice which is part of a later phase of decoration and in the east wall is a door with applied panel detailing on one side. The L-shaped staircase has a timber balustrade with a square newel post, stick balusters, and a handrail. The first floor comprises three bedrooms with lath-and-plaster internal walls. The central bedroom may be a later infill within the central landing. The property includes several four- and six-panel timber doors. All fireplaces have been blocked, except for one within the ground-floor east room, which has a C20 stone surround, and a waterproof membrane has been added to sections of walling. The building is topped by a hipped roof structure including trusses with raked posts, a pair of purlins, ridge board, and rafters; later supports have been added.

* Pursuant to s1 (5A) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (‘the Act’) it is declared that these aforementioned features are not of special architectural or historic interest. However, any works to these structures and/or features which have the potential to affect the character of the listed building as a building of special architectural or historic interest may still require Listed Building Consent (LBC) and this is a matter for the Local Planning Authority (LPA) to determine.

History

Shelleys was constructed in the early C19. It stands on the site of an earlier dwelling, which dated to before the early C17 and was in place until at least 1807. The earlier building was situated at the south end of the plot, with the front elevation abutting the road and a large detached barn to the north.

The lease of the land, known at the time as Sweetapples, was acquired in 1828 from Amelia Sweetapple by Martin Sweetapple Friend, farmer and churchwarden. The construction of the new dwelling most likely dates to this change of lease; it is unclear if any part of the earlier building was incorporated into the new dwelling. The new house was in place by 1846 when it is shown on the Tithe Map of Martin. The map depicts a building with an L-shaped footprint and the main range set back from the road. There was also a small detached outbuilding and the earlier barn to the north which had been retained. By the late C19, when the building was known as Prince’s Farm, a narrow wing had been added to the rear of the house.

By the early C20, a single-storey extension was added to the east side of the house; the extension contained a post office and shop. In the early C20, the wing between the house and barn was extended, creating a link between both buildings. The site was sold in 1920 as part of a wider agricultural estate within the parish of Martin and was described as a brick, plaster, and slate farmhouse containing three bedrooms, two sitting rooms, kitchen, pantry, and brick-and-slate shop, with a brick, timber, and thatched barn, stable, and shed.

The post office and shop remained in use until around the late 1940s. In 1961, planning permission was granted for various modifications to the building, then known as The Laurels, most of which were implemented. The slanted roof of the one-and-a-half-storey short rear early-C19 wing was removed, and it was raised to two full storeys with the creation of a new flat roof; the chimney stack was removed and replaced with a corner stack, and modifications were made to the window openings. The barn was demolished and a new set of garages added. The former post office was converted to domestic accommodation; the shop door and window were replaced by a pair of sash windows within the front elevation. A year later, when the building became known as Shelleys, an additional garage and store were added to the rear. Also in the latter half of the C20, the narrow late-C19 section of the rear wing was enlarged and a second storey topped by a hipped roof was added. The front porch of the main range was also replaced with a flat-roof brick structure after the early 1960s, as were the sash windows within the front and rear elevation.

Reasons for Listing

Shelleys, Martin, New Forest, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as an early C19 dwelling which retains a significant proportion of historic fabric, including much of its cob envelope and roof structure;
* as an example of the application of cob construction in a polite style of architecture rather than in the more common vernacular tradition;
* for the interior survival, which includes a legible plan, as well as the remains of C19 joinery.

Historic interest:

* as evidence continuation of regional building traditions into the early C19 and as an increasingly rare survival of cob construction in and around the New Forest.

Recommended Books

• 
  ENGLAND GUIDE TO POST WAR LISTED: A Guide to Post-war Listed Buildings
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)