32, Firs Chase

32 Firs Chase is a service range that has been converted into a separate house, dating from the 18th century and later. The building is timber-framed and weather-boarded, featuring brick chimney stacks and a pitched tiled roof. It consists of a pair of gabled ranges with an outshut to the right, which originally served as the service range for the attached No. 32 The Firs.

The exterior includes 20th-century windows on both the ground and first floors, with the entrance now located on the right side, accessed through an early 20th-century door. The outshut to the right has a cat-slide roof.

Inside, the main room in the right-hand range has a stone flag floor, a chamfered beam, and exposed timber-framing on the walls. There are built-in cupboards from the 18th century, including one in the corner with curved shelves. A large central stack at the rear, built with 18th-century brickwork, originally served the kitchen and now has a 20th-century fireplace covering the bressumer. The room on the left has framed partitions, a chamfered beam, exposed joists, and an 18th-century corner cupboard with shaped shelves. A wooden stair leads to the first floor, which has wide plank floorboards throughout. To the right, there is a bedroom featuring a small cast-iron fireplace and a small plank door that opens to a crawl space, exposing the wall framing at the rear of No. 30, along with the wall plate, lathe and plaster finish, and brick chimney stack. The bedrooms to the left have exposed wall plates and feature 2-panel doors with L-hinges, as well as an 18th-century corner cupboard.

No. 32 retains much of its original form, plan, timber-framing, joinery, and brick stack, serving as an 18th-century service range to the earlier house at No. 30. Together, they form a significant group in the historic fishing community of West Mersea.