Ships Timbers

Ships Timbers is a house located in Braughing village, dating from the 16th century or earlier, with a northern crosswing. The hall range was constructed with two storeys and a central chimney in the early 17th century. It features a timber frame that is roughcast, with plastered brickwork on the northern wall and a steep old red tile roof. The building has a three-unit plan with a cross-passage leading to the northern service wing and a very large central chimney situated between the parlour to the south and the hall in the middle. The service rooms are axially divided, and one doorway in the passage has a hollow-chamfered, four-centred arched head.

On the upper floor, the walls have heavy tension braces, and there is a heavy knee-brace supporting the central tie-beam. The 17th-century rebuilt hall range includes long straight tension braces, jowled posts with long straight braces to the tie beams, and heavy chamfered floor beams that run across the building, featuring elaborate ogee and stepped-bar stops. There is a brick four-centred arched chamfered fireplace in the chamber above the parlour. The front of the building facing the road has two storeys with three irregularly spaced windows, which are two-light flush casement windows, along with smaller similar windows on the upper floor. A door is located in a lean-to porch, one-third from the northern end, and the central chimney is positioned one-third from the southern end. A rear stair turret is situated behind the chimney.