Granary 5 Metres South East Of Heron Hall

Granary 5 metres south-east of Heron Hall, Billericay Road, Herongate

This is a granary of early 15th-century date, altered in the late 17th century. It is built mainly of red brick in English bond, with gables rebuilt in red and blue brick in Flemish bond, and roofed with handmade red clay tiles. The building has a rectangular plan facing approximately west, and abuts the outside of the moat to the east.

The west elevation has two storeys. On the ground floor are two original windows with chamfered jambs and steep four-centred arches, and a blocked original doorway with chamfered jambs, altered to a similar window. On the first floor are two original windows with chamfered jambs and shallow two-centred arches, and a blocked doorway altered to a similar window. The plinth is penetrated by barred semicircular arches open to the west only; at the time of inspection in August 1989, five were visible, though others were concealed by a 20th-century feature.

The east elevation has two similar ground-floor windows and two similar first-floor windows, one of which is blocked. There are smaller blocked arches at approximate floor level, and a deep plinth splayed out towards the moat. All windows retain incomplete original wrought-iron grills, or evidence for them. The original first-floor windows are arranged so that each lights one bay, on alternate sides. The two altered doorways are vertically in line in the second bay from the north end; the lower inserted window utilises the original south jamb and is executed in similar bricks and workmanship, evidently at an early date. The upper blocked doorway was concealed by creeper at the time of inspection, visible only as a straight joint internally.

The south elevation has a doorway inserted in the late 17th century on each floor; the lower door is of that date or early, while the upper door is 20th-century, reached by an external wooden stair. Both parapet gables have been rebuilt above tie-beam level in the late 17th century, with blue headers and red stretchers forming a regular pattern, in similar style to Heron Hall, its stable range, and its court hall/granary. The north wall is partly rendered.

The bricks of the original fabric are 0.22–0.23 metres long, 0.11 metres wide, and 0.05 metres deep, laid in lime mortar with four courses rising 0.24 metres. They are plum coloured and of high quality, evenly built.

Inside, the walls are bare and it is unclear whether they have ever been plastered. All windows have segmental rear-arches and wide splays. Most windows are rebated for inward-opening shutters; one first-floor east window is grooved for glazing, while another retains two pintle hinges. On each floor, in the middle of the west wall is a plain niche, about the same size as the windows, with a simple corbelled head; traces of sooting indicate that it was used for a lamp.

The timber structure is original, comprising four bays. The lower floor is approximately one metre above ground, comprising main joists supported at the junctions by brick piers and heavy common joists of horizontal section; access from below is barred and faced with plywood above, though wide floorboards are visible, probably original. The upper floor structure comprises three chamfered transverse beams, four chamfered axial bridging beams, and heavy plain joists of horizontal section jointed to the bridging beams with central tenons and soffit spurs, a rare form. Later posts support the junctions.

The roof is a crownpost roof with five cambered tie-beams, chamfered with step stops, plain crownposts, and four-way rising braces except on the end posts, which have single axial braces. The crownposts are originally numbered 1–4 from north to south; the fifth crownpost is of reused timber. The undersides of the rafters and collars are plastered. The tiles were relaid in 1988 after hurricane damage. The chamfers of the tie-beams terminate just short of original clamps pegged to the walls.

This building is exceptional as a rare example of high-quality brickwork in a secular context; no parallel is known in Essex. It is exceptionally complete and unaltered, with only early alterations that are themselves of historic interest. It is the earliest building on the site.