Highams Farmhouse

TOLLESHUNT MAJOR HIGHAMS CHASE TL 90 NW 5/109 Highams Farmhouse - II*

House. Circa 1400, altered in late C16, extended in C19. Original build timber framed and plastered, roofed with handmade red clay tiles. Later builds of red brick, partly plastered, roofs tiled and slated. 2-bay hall facing SW, with late C16 stack in left bay. Originally storeyed service bay to left. 2-bay parlour/solar crosswing to right, with hipped roof. Hall range of one storey with attics, crosswing of 2 storeys. Crosswing extended to rear, forming an L-plan, with C18 dairy in rear left angle, of red brick with hipped tiled roof. Smaller C19 extensions to left and rear of dairy. Large mid-C19 extension to right of crosswing, of plastered brick with hipped slate roof, forming a C19 entrance front to SE, with 2 internal rear stacks symmetrically arranged, and original central porch. This part of 2 storeys. SW elevation, ground floor, 2 C20 casements, C20 splayed bay, C20 aluminium window at right. First floor, one C20 casement, another in gabled dormer, one early C19 sash of 16 lights, and C2U aluminium window at right. Hall range faced with painted brick, remainder plastered. 6-panel door, with 2 top panels glazed, in round arch of brick facade. The hall range has jowled posts, deep chamfered braces rising to meet in the middle of the chamfered and cambered central tiebeam, a late C16 inserted floor comprising a chamfered axial beam with lamb's tongue stops and plain joists of horizontal section, with a late C16 off-centre stack, much altered at the ground floor. Crownpost roof with cross-quadrate central crownpost with 4-way rising braces, collar-purlin boxed in, collars plastered to the soffits. An unuseal feature is a mortice in the crownpost and the jointed and pegged stub of a second axial brace, below the other braces. Display bracing and peg-holes for fixed bench in side wall of crosswing. The crosswing has a chamfered binding beam with mortices for arched braces to it, and plain joists of horizontal section jointed to it with central tenons. At front, underbuilt jetty, and 6 diamond mortices for 2 unglazed windows, originally with a stud between them; rear wall of ground floor removed. One panel of wattle and daub infill exposed in side wall of crosswing. Original doorway to parlour blocked, arched head missing, mortice for draught screen. Cambered central tiebeam; roof not examined, but reported to be of crownpost construction with 4-way rising braces; gabled at the front originally, later altered to a hip. The C18 dairy at the rear is of interest, floor sunk below ground level, one original window with arched head of gauged brick. The windows of the mid-C19 SE block have been modernised. Highams was a manor; no history is recorded before Robert Higham, who died in 1427, and the present house may date from his time. It remained in the Higham family until 1545 (P. Morant, The History and Antiquities of Essex, 1768, I, 391).

Listing NGR: TL9119509344