The Fruit Farm

The Fruit Farm is a house located in Childerditch, dating from the late medieval period and the 17th century. It features a timber-framed structure, with sections that are weatherboard, render, and brick. The roof is low-pitched and gabled, covered with slate, and has a substantial central ridge line stack. At the rear, there are two single-storey lean-to extensions where the main eaves line varies in height, along with a shallow projecting stair tower. The house is two storeys tall, but the ground slopes away at the rear. The upper part of the rear elevation displays patterned pargeted panels.

Inside, the northern part of the house retains remains of a late medieval, former jettied cross-wing with a cambered tie-beam. This area was enclosed in the early to mid-17th century to create a regular box frame two-storey dwelling. The rear features a projecting lean-to roofed stair tower, which includes a surviving winder stair and central newel post. There is also a contemporary central stack with a salt cupboard recess. The framing is generally of good quality, although some is made of elm. The roof was replaced in the 19th century, but remnants of 17th-century rafters are still present. The floor above the former cross-wing indicates that it may have originally been a three-storey structure.