Sparrows Farmhouse

Sparrows Farmhouse is a house that dates back to the early 17th century, with alterations made in the 18th and 20th centuries. It is timber framed, plastered, and has a roof made of handmade red clay tiles. The house has three bays facing southwest, with a central stack that creates a lobby entrance. There is a two-bay rear wing at the right end, along with 19th and 20th-century extensions in the northern angle and a 20th-century extension to the left of the main range. The building has two storeys with attics. On the ground floor, there are three 20th-century sash windows. The first floor features two early 19th-century sash windows with 12 and 16 lights, respectively, both made with crown glass, as well as two 20th-century sash windows. In the attic, there is one 20th-century sash window. The house has a late 16th-century door with an ovolo-moulded and riveted grid on the outside, likely introduced, located in the original two-storey porch. The main stack has three richly ornamented round shafts and one plain octagonal shaft. The building features jowled posts and ovolo-moulded axial and transverse beams with lamb's tongue stops. On the first floor, there is an original fireplace facing left, with moulded plaster jambs and a depressed arch, along with a plain Victorian cast iron grate. The corresponding hearth facing right has an ornate Victorian cast iron grate. This property became a freehold farm of 80 acres in 1611, and the current house likely dates from that time. It became copyhold of the manor of Terling Hall in 1703 and was purchased by John Strutt in 1761, as recorded in the Essex Record Office.