Mount Thrift

Mount Thrift is a house dating back to the 16th century and earlier, with extensions from the 18th and 19th centuries, located on Billericay Road, Herongate, Brentwood. It is timber-framed, with roughcast rendering and a roof of handmade red clay tiles. The main range is three bays facing north, featuring a central stack. To the right of the stack is an earlier three-bay cross-wing, incorporated into the 16th-century main range and projecting one bay to the rear. A 16th-century wing is situated to the rear of the left part of the main range, with a narrower wing to the rear of the stack, forming a rectangular plan with two gables to the front and three to the rear. An external stack is present on the right side, along with single-storey lean-to extensions to the front, roofed with red clay pantiles, and to the rear, creating a catslide roofline with the rear wing. A further wing dates from the 18th century, with an external stack to the rear, and a 20th-century lean-to addition is present at the rear.

The house is two storeys high, with 19th-century casement windows or 20th-century replacements in a matching style throughout the front. A flush 6-panel door is positioned at the front of a porch, which has a moulded flat canopy supported by scrolled brackets. The central stack has four linked shafts set diagonally in a cruciform plan. The left wing features a hipped roof and a 19th-century two-story bay of sash windows on the left elevation. A 19th-century sash window with marginal lights and coloured glass, positioned halfway up the rear elevation of the middle wing, illuminates the intermediate landing of a 19th-century dogleg staircase. A 17th-century ledged back door retains its original wooden handle.

The interior of the right rear wing exhibits a chamfered axial beam, exposed plain horizontal section joists, and a crownpost roof. Other interior areas have plastered soffits to the joists. A chamfered transverse beam, originally tapered at the front to indicate a former jetty, is located to the left of the stack. The main roof has plastered soffits to the rafters and collars, likely constructed with clasped purlins. 20th-century grates and heaters are present in all fireplaces. The left rear wing showcases exposed weatherboarding and a 17th-century wrought-iron casement with handmade glass and diamond leading. Within the left wing are two 6-panel doors, and a recess between them featuring a semi-elliptical arch. A 19th-century staircase with stick balusters is also present. On the first floor, to the right of the stack, there are two 17th-century moulded doors, one of three planks and one of four. A 17th-century window with moulded mullions, previously recorded by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (East Horndon), may be located on the left-hand first-floor elevation. The name "Mount Thrift" was first noted in court rolls dating to 1403, and a 1969 report by Christopher Starr details the history of the property. The site formerly included a moat.