Gatehouse Farmhouse

Gatehouse Farmhouse is a house dating from around 1300, featuring a two-bay hall and a two-storey crosswing. It was formerly jettied to the east and has mixed clay tile roofs with a gabled dormer. The windows are 20th-century casements, and there is a 16th-century red brick chimney stack that has been rebuilt at the top. The crosswing served as the former service wing and retains a crown post roof along with one service door that has an oak four-centred head. Some original sooted rafters from the hall remain, and there is an original first-floor stairwell with joists fitted using soffit tenons, a technique introduced at Winchester Cathedral by Lyngwode between 1307 and 1309. The hall is spanned by a low tie beam that supports two complete Queen posts, which are hollow octagonal with water-holding bases and capitals featuring half rolls and frontal fillets. The date of the moulding, based on comparisons, is estimated to be between 1220 and 1230 at St. Alban's Cathedral West Nave piers and around 1250 at Navestock Church in Essex. The south arcade is also made of timber. The origin of the house is likely monastic, and the design of the Queen post roof is unique for such an early date.