Maldon Wycke And Attached Garden Wall

Maldon Wycke and Attached Garden Wall

House, early 17th century and early 19th century. Timber-framed and rendered with front of white Gault brick and plain tile roofs; brick end stacks. The building has a complex plan form of two parallel ranges with two blocks at right-angles to the rear.

The main south elevation is of two storeys, comprising a three-window range with plain parapet and hipped plain tile roof. The first floor has small-paned tripartite sash windows either side of a small-paned sash, all with rubbed brick flat arches. The ground floor features a central open-pedimented doorcase with dentils, consoles and moulded architraves, with a semi-circular fanlight with Gothick glazing bars and door of six raised-and-fielded panels. On either side are bay windows with small panes, cornices and frieze of loops and diamonds. The flanks have pilasters with moulded capitals and panels of lattice and quatrefoils, matching the interior decoration of No.2 London Road.

The west elevation is rendered with a brick flank stack to the front range and a long timber-framed parapet with moulded timber cornice linking the disparate roofs. This elevation has two tripartite sash windows with central vertical glazing bars on the first floor, and a mixture of 20th-century windows. The east flank has a similar red brick stack, parapet and cornice, with a 20th-century conservatory. A 12-pane sash window appears on the first floor with 20th-century small-paned casement windows on both floors below. The east rear wing has a hipped roof, 20th-century small-paned casement windows, and is black weatherboarded on its exposed flank wall at first floor level. The western rear wing is gabled with a lean-to extension with peg tiles on the north end and a further gabled single-storey extension on the north-west corner. The north-east corner has a single-storey 20th-century extension with hipped plain tile roof. The rear parallel range roof has a large ridgeline stack.

The interior of the early 19th-century front range contains much period detail including a dogleg staircase with column-on-vase balusters, fret-cut tread ends, column newel and swept hardwood handrail. Doors have four raised-and-fielded panels and moulded architraves. One front room has a fire surround with eared architrave and moulded plaster cornice. The hall cornice is of egg-and-dart pattern.

The timber-framed part consists of a two-bay cross-wing of approximately 1600 at the north-west corner. This has jowled posts and a four-bay roof with butt purlins and central couple with curved wind braces to purlins. The north gable contains remnants of five-light diamond-mullioned windows. Wall bracing is inverted and one door opening can be traced in the central first-floor partition. A door to the attic is 17th century with moulded panels. A stack on the east flank has a wide inglenook fireplace with chamfered timber mantel beam. Above this on the first floor is a four-centred-arched fireplace with chamfered jambs, dating from 1600–20.

The rear parallel range consists of two bays of early 17th-century timber-framing with chamfered spine beams and bridging joists and a clasped-purlin roof. This is possibly the hall range for the cross-wing, though it appears slightly later.

A large, good quality red-brick garden wall bounds the north-western part of the garden, linked to the north-west corner of the house.