Number 1 (Springwaters ) And Number 2 (Tithings)

TL 72 SE 1/48

CRESSING CHURCH ROAD (east side) No. 1 (Springwaters) and No. 2 (Tithings)

GV II

House, now 2 cottages. Circa 1500, altered and extended at several periods. Timber framed, plastered, roofed with handmade red plain tiles and some slate. 2-bay hall facing E with late C16 stack in right bay against front wall. Parlour/solar bay to left, and C17 single-storey wing of 3 bays to rear of it, raised to 2 storeys with flat roof in C20, and C20 flat-roofed single-storey extension beyond. C17 one-bay extension to right, replacing former service bay, and C18 bay beyond with internal stack at end. C20 single-storey rear extensions. One storey with attics. The original house is divided through the stack, No.1 to the left, No. 2 to the right. No. 1 has a 2-window range of C20 casements and a C20 door in a lean-to porch. The front pitch of this roof has been raised. No. 2 has a 2-window range of C20 diamond-leaded casements, and a hipped porch with a similar window and C20 door. This roof has been rebuilt on an axis parallel to that of the original roof, but in front of it. No. 1 has jowled posts, heavy studding, and diamond mortices and a shutter groove for an unglazed window in the left return. The left bay has plain joists of horizontal section arranged longitudinally, and a blocked stair trap in the left rear corner. The left bay of the former open hall has a mid-C16 inserted floor comprising a transverse beam against the stack, chamfered on one side only with step stops, and chamfered joists of horizontal section with step stops arranged longitudinally. The mantel beam has a cranked upper surface; the lower edge is chamfered and mitred as for a timber-framed chimney, later rebuilt in brick. The wide wood-burning hearth has a seat in the right side, and is much repaired with C20 brickwork. The rear rafters of this bay are smoke-blackened, indicating use as an open hall before the floor was inserted. The original roof was of crownpost form, but in No. 1 this is visible only at the trusses; the collar-purlin and braces to it are missing. In No. 2 a short section of collar-purlin remains in situ, with a cambered tiebeam and simple crownpost. The wide wood-burning hearth in No. 2 has a chamfered mantel beam with lamb's tongue stops, later in date than that of No. 1. The left bay has a C17 floor of plain joists of vertical section. In the right bay many of the joists are re-used. (M.C. Wadhams, Essex Archaeology and History 2, 1979, 80).

Listing NGR: TL7937920476