Dytchleys

Dytchleys is a house dating from 1729, situated on the south side of Coxtie Green Road at Pilgrims Hatch, Brentwood. The building is constructed of brick, colourwashed, with a concealed peg-tiled roof. It has a rectangular plan with lesser additions to the north-east and south-west ends.

The north-west front elevation comprises three storeys with seven bays. The central three bays break forward and are topped with a simple pediment with keystones to the window heads. A full-length cyma moulded cornice runs below the parapet, with two moulded string courses between floors in the central section. A central projecting wooden door porch of Tuscan order features triglyphs and modillions beneath a pediment. The door is round-headed within a semicircular archway with a keystone, comprising two leaves each with two panels—the upper two glazed and carved to follow the outline, the lower two recessed. Behind this is an inner doorway with a recessed panelled reveals and a four-panel door with the upper two leaves glazed. Window frames are slightly recessed with straight heads and gauged brick voussoirs. All windows are of sash type with glazing bars, though many have been considerably replaced or are missing. The ground-floor windows are simple sashes, with the outer pair on each side featuring horns. The first floor has five 3x4 pane sashes running from north-east to south-west, with the final two missing. The second floor contains five 3x3 pane sashes, with the final two of 3x3 form but missing lower sashes. Two tall red brick stacks of conjoined octagonal shafts stand at the junction of the central and outer units of the facade; their 'Tudor' form suggests they are 19th or early 20th-century replacements.

The rear south-east elevation is similar to the front but lacks the forward-breaking central section and associated pediment, string courses, and keystones over windows. The parapet is simple brick with cornice and prominent stacks as on the front. The ground floor has two 3x4 pane sashes from north-east to south-west, followed by three French windows of 20th-century date cut into older apertures, each double-leaved with four panes per leaf (some missing), and two plain sashes with horns. The first floor has seven 3x4 pane sashes, and the second floor has seven 3x4 pane sashes.

The south-west end elevation contains an early 19th-century central projecting addition of two storeys with a bow front and a single-storey continuation in the angle on the south side. This addition is stuccoed with a central doorway and first-floor window. The doorway has a flat top with a reeded surround and a two-leaved door, each leaf with upper two-light glazing and lower flush panel. The window above is round-headed with radial glazing bars and a lower moving sash of 3x2 panes. The ground-floor extension has a 3x3 pane sash. The south-west end of the house is exposed, with a ground-floor single 3x3 pane sash, first-floor blocked windows, and a second-floor window containing a reduced aperture (window missing).

The north-east end elevation has a 19th-century ground-floor addition across the entire width containing a central doorway with a rectangular fanlight above and another window above, both 4x2 panes, with the fanlight top-hung and the upper window fixed. A 20th-century door with two leaves features upper glazed sections of 2x4 panes and lower recessed panels. The original house wall behind the 19th-century addition has two octagonal chimney stacks with three bays between them and a single bay on each side. Five second-floor windows are present, with three now blocked. Between the stacks is one central 3x4 pane sash window and one reduced window with a two-light casement. The second floor has three blocked windows, one central 3x3 pane sash, and another adjacent, also 3x3 panes.

The interior was not examined during the listing survey. The building appears heavily institutionalised with little early work surviving. It was reported to possess a two-storey Georgian galleried hall. A 20th-century red brick block stands at the north-east corner and is not included in the listing. Dytchleys and its outbuildings form a group.