Old Redgate Farmhouse

Old Redgate Farmhouse is a house dating from the 16th century, with alterations made in the 20th century. It is timber framed and was originally plastered with exposed framing and imitation framing, now roofed with handmade red clay tiles. The building comprises the 2-bay crosswing of a hall house that originally extended to the north, facing west, with a 20th-century rear extension.

The front elevation has a ground floor with one 20th-century casement window and one restored late 16th-century window of three lights with modern glazing. The first floor has one 20th-century casement window. A 20th-century door is located at the front of a lean-to porch on the left return. The front elevation is jettied, with the joists sawn off square below the bressumer. Much of the exposed studding is original, although some reused timber has been introduced since 1970, and the external 'Suffolk' bracing is not authentic. Mortices indicate the former existence of a large oriel window below the jetty, with three-light windows to each side, only one of which is now present. On the first floor, the current window replaces an original window of a similar size, and there is evidence of further former windows now covered with studding.

The roof is a crownpost roof, with the end collar and collar-purlin exposed. The left return, which formerly abutted the hall, has been extensively altered, including the insertion of studding and a re-sited window with ovolo mullions. Original 'Suffolk' tension braces, trenched inside the studs of the upper storey, remain. The original rear wall is now open, but mortices suggest it originally had a chimney, possibly of brick or timber framing. The right girt has diamond mortices indicating a former window. The house features jowled posts, a chamfered binding beam with roll stops, and plain horizontal section joists jointed with soffit tenons with diminished haunches – these were likely plastered over from the outset. There are no wallplate scarfs. The roof construction includes chamfered rectangular posts, chamfered axial bracing, a collar-purlin with a simple splayed and tenoned scarf, and the remainder is rebuilt in softwood. A good series of carpenter's assembly marks, primarily scribed but with chisel-cut marks on wallposts and braces, are present. These features are consistent with a date in the second half of the 16th century, likely around 1570. An Ordnance Map from 1896 shows a north wing, likely the former hall, which was demolished before the 1920s. The house has been extensively restored since 1970; before this, it was weatherboarded. It was historically associated with a farm of 66 acres. A report and measured drawings by S. Potter are deposited in Essex Record Office.