Feering Place

House. Dating largely from the 17th century, with alterations in the 19th century. The house is timber-framed and plastered, with extensions in red brick laid in a Flemish bond pattern. The facade is painted brick, and the roof is covered with handmade red plain tiles. There are four large bays facing southwest, with a rear stack to each outer bay. A two-bay rear wing originally stood behind the left stack and was extended in the 19th century. A similar wing was added behind the right stack, connected by a link to enclose a small service courtyard. The house has two storeys, with single-storey extensions to the left and right of the main range, featuring flat roofs. Minor rear extensions are also present, including a lean-to conservatory in the rear right angle. The front elevation has a three-window range of tripartite sash windows, each with a 4-12-4 light arrangement. A central glazed door is set within a fluted architrave and panelled jambs, and is sheltered by a Greek Doric portico. The interior features a simple plaster cornice and a plain parapet, with a hipped roof. The central two bays comprise an entrance/stair hall with a curved staircase dating to around 1800, which has a wreathed mahogany handrail, slender turned lotus balusters, and cast iron newels decorated with guilloche and other ornamentation. The sides of the upper part of the stair are panelled in pine, with pine boarding to the soffit. A 17th-century painting depicting an arcade pattern is visible on the lower right wall, partially obscured by wallpaper. The transverse beam is roll-moulded and chamfered on one side to accommodate the inserted stair; original oak floorboards are present. Axial beams in the outer bays are boxed in. The original rear wing retains some close studding visible internally, blocked windows in the left wall, and a chamfered axial beam, unstopped, with joists plastered to the soffits. The original rear stack is made of small, high-quality early 16th-century bricks, but the stack itself is of 17th-century construction. The roof is original and is of a clasped purlin construction. The building is characterised by exceptionally high storeys. An early 17th-century ovolo-moulded timber, likely the sill of an oriel window, was re-used as a pelmet in the left ground-floor room.