Dower House

Dower House, Billericay Road, Herongate

A house of early 17th-century origin, extended around 1700 and again in the 20th century. The building is partly timber-framed with walls of red and blue brick laid in Flemish bond, roofed with handmade and machine-made red clay tiles.

The structure comprises a long main range facing north-west, with the left bay dating to the early 17th century and timber-framed, containing an axial internal stack at its left end. The remainder of the range dates to around 1700 and includes another axial stack. An early 18th-century one-bay wing stands in front of the original bay. A small single-storey lean-to extension was added to the rear in the 20th century, positioned to the right of centre. The main range rises to 2 storeys with attics; the front wing comprises a half-cellar, one storey and an attic.

The front elevation of the main range is of red brick with two 19th-century casement windows on the ground floor and three on the first floor, irregularly arranged. A band of three courses marks the first-floor height. Parapet gables feature kneelers on the rear pitch only. The front pitch of the roof is clad with handmade tiles, whilst the rear pitch uses machine-made tiles. The left front wing displays red stretchers and blue headers in a regular pattern, with one casement on the front elevation and another within a gabled dormer in the hipped roof. A blocked cellar window in a brick arch appears in the right return. The right gable end of the main range has a plain boarded door with no apertures at ground or first-floor level; a 20th-century casement occupies the gable. Seven old wrought-iron ties of S and X forms are visible on this elevation. The left elevation contains five 19th-century casements of various sizes and a door. The rear elevation shows red brick in the earliest bay, with red stretchers and blue headers forming a regular pattern in the remainder; three 19th-century casements appear on the ground floor and six on the first floor, with a similar band marking the first-floor level. Cement pointing has been applied throughout. The external walls measure approximately 0.36 metres thick and are plastered internally; this thickness suggests the presence of timber framing beneath the brick cladding.

Internally, the original timber structure is visible only in the front wall of the left bay of the main range, enclosed by the front wing. It is constructed of oak with chamfered posts featuring lamb's tongue stops, heavy studding and primary straight bracing. The roof above this bay employs butt-purlin construction, with purlins set in line with a short arched collar, all of high quality workmanship. A large wood-burning hearth with 0.33-metre jambs is fitted with a chamfered mantel beam bearing lamb's tongue stops. The floor structure is 18th-century, comprising an unchamfered transverse beam supported on a block at the girt front, with plain joists of vertical section butt-cogged to the beam. Above the first floor, axial and transverse chamfered beams with lamb's tongue stops are present. The remainder of the main range features an unchamfered transverse beam over each ground-floor room, with a joggled butt-purlin roof. In the front wall of the ground-floor room at the right end sits a deep splayed recess, probably a blocked window. An 18th-century pine fire surround and an 18th-century pine closet door on the first floor have been seriously damaged by sand-blasting; the latter retains original butterfly hinges. Most internal doors are of six-panel design. The middle stack contains a large wood-burning hearth facing left, pointed with cement mortar, and a small 20th-century hearth facing right. The front left wing has a chamfered axial beam with lamb's tongue stops and distinctive diagonal ties at the front angles.

The complete series of 19th-century casements makes an important contribution to the character of this building and merits careful conservation.