Farmhouse At Chithams Farm

Farmhouse at Chithams Farm

This is a timber-framed farmhouse of medieval origin, dating to the late 14th or early 15th century, which has been extended substantially during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The building sits at the north-west corner of a moated enclosure near Ramsden Heath, and forms part of a historic farmstead that also includes a barn to the east and a timber-framed weatherboarded structure to the north, possibly a former dovecot.

The medieval core of the house consists of a hall range and a cross-wing, both of timber-frame construction. These are now partially rebuilt and clad in brick. The 19th and early 20th century additions are built entirely of brick. All roofs are pitched and tiled. The house is arranged as a five-bay, two-storey structure. The cross-wing projects slightly to the rear of the hall, with its first-floor gable end jettied to the front. The timber-framed and weatherboarded building to the north is not considered to be of special interest.

On the east elevation, two full gable ends flank the hall range, with an additional larger half-hipped gable to the south. The medieval cross-wing has a steeply pitched roof. Chimneys are present on the east slope of the hall roof and to the rear of the main range. The front door and entrance is positioned at the south end of the east elevation of the hall range. All windows are 19th century or modern timber-mullioned casements. The rear of the hall range is concealed behind the early 20th century west extension.

Internally, the hall range contains a cross passage formed between the front door and a rear door to the modern hallway. At the north end of the west wall, the upper part of a door with a pointed arch formed by chamfered braces remains visible. Medieval studs survive at ground-floor level, and fragments of timber framing survive in the east wall beneath plaster. The ground floor has been subdivided into a hall, corridor and living room. The living room contains medieval stop-chamfered ceiling beams and a modern brick fireplace. The north wall of this room shares the boundary with the cross-wing and contains medieval wall studs and a substantial post with down braces on either side, pegged on the hall side for a dais, bench and canopy.

The ground floor of the cross-wing has a ceiling of substantial joists supported by a large unchamfered transverse beam braced to posts on either side, suggesting this was the service end of the building. Access to the first floor of the cross-wing is now from a first-floor corridor above the hall, though there is evidence of an original stairwell at the west end of the cross-wing. A small Tudor-arched door in the first-floor west wall may have provided access to a garderobe. The first-floor walls contain medieval studs with down braces designed to be seen from both inside and outside the hall. Elements of original windows survive at the east end, including grooves for sliding shutters. A substantial, slightly curved tie beam across the centre of the room supports a moulded crown post, with braces creating a single wide arch spanning the room width. The braces are chamfered and moulded to jowled posts. The crown post is braced to rafters and the crown plate, which has been truncated. The roof was modified in the 20th century by the addition of purlins and struts to either side of the crown post, though most of the original collars and rafters remain.

The hall and cross-wing share the same frame, with framing characteristic of the late 14th or early 15th century. The top-plate scarf joints are face-halved and bridled, indicating a date after 1375. The cross-wing appears to have been originally constructed with two storeys, but the open hall was ceiled in the late 16th or 17th century, at which time a chimney stack would have been built to replace the open hearth. Substantial additions were made in the 19th century. By 1874, an additional cross-wing had been added to the south and a small wing attached to the north elevation. Between 1896 and 1922, the house was further extended by additions to the south and west. Some loss of timber framing has occurred at the south end of the hall, and the roof is of 19th or 20th century construction.

The farmstead is an isolated complex to the west of Ramsden Heath village. The moated enclosure around the house dates to an uncertain period, though most such moats were constructed in the 13th or early 14th century. The barn immediately to the east lies outside the moat. The fine quality of detailing in the medieval hall and cross-wing is indicative of the property's status, reinforced by the presence of the surrounding moat and the substantial barn. The surviving fabric of the medieval core represents important evidence of local building traditions and vernacular construction techniques.