Little Bumpkyns

Little Bumpkyns is a house dating to circa 1600, located in Navestock. Originally known as Navestock Bumpkyns, it is an exposed timber-framed building with a peg-tiled roof. The house has two storeys and originally comprised two bays and a two-cell plan. A rear lateral stack is integral with the frame, containing fireplaces on both floors. Twentieth-century metal-framed casement windows with lattice panes are present. The original front door opening on the east side of the central post has been blocked, and the house is now entered through a twentieth-century rear extension. While the exterior timber framing has been altered in the twentieth century, the first floor retains straight tension bracing at the corners and at the central storey post. The stud frequency originally measured at approximately 2 feet centre intervals. The interior features a roof with a trapped side purlin. The principal bridging joists have lamb's tongue chamfer stops, and the common joists are deep sectioned with diminished haunched soffit tenons. A stairwell was originally located at the rear, providing access between the two cells, though the current staircase is twentieth century. A second, later stair trap has been cut through the east end. Later twentieth-century alterations include an extension to the east and a large outshut to the north, featuring plastic weatherboarding and a bow window.