Bure House

Bure House

This is a house dating to the 17th century, with substantial alterations and extensions made in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and further extensions added during the 19th century.

The building comprises a south-facing front range of probable 17th-century origin, which was refronted in the late 18th or early 19th century, and a long multi-phase rear range that steps downwards towards the river, following the slope of the site. The rear range includes a 17th-century section, a stable built before about 1840, and an outbuilding added between about 1840 and 1886.

Materials and Roofing

The front range is rendered, while the rear ranges are constructed of flint and handmade red brick. All sections are covered with pantile-clad roofs.

The Front Range

The two-storey, four-bay front range is designed in the Georgian style. It has a pitched roof with raised parapets at the gable ends, surmounted by terracotta finials, and a square brick ridge stack positioned off-centre to the left. The fenestration has been renewed in the 20th century. On the ground floor, the first bay contains a three-light wooden casement under a segmental arch opening, followed by a panelled front door with a fanlight (of 20th-century date), and a small window with leaded lights, possibly featuring coloured glass. The third bay is lit by a two-light casement, and the fourth bay has a canted bay window. The first floor has three three-light casements positioned directly under the eaves. The left return features a square bay under a roof with sprocketed eaves, and a lean-to 20th-century greenhouse stands against the right return.

The Rear 17th-Century Range

At right angles to the front range is the 17th-century range, constructed of flint rubble with red brick quoins and two plat bands, one just above ground-floor lintel level and the other just below first-floor lintel level. The pitched roof has a wide chimney stack with a brick cornice rising from the centre. The fenestration consists of two-light wooden casements of 20th-century date, set under segmental brick arches. On the east elevation, the partially creeper-obscured ground floor has a window, a canted bay window, another window, and a door with flush panels in a shallow 20th-century surround. The first floor is lit by five windows. On the west elevation, a mid to late 19th-century extension on the right-hand side has a hipped roof and is lit by a canted bay window and a three-light multi-pane window above.

The Stable Block

Adjacent to the rear range is the stable block, which has a shallow pitched roof. Its ground floor is constructed of brick laid in Flemish bond, with flint rubble and gault brick above. On the left-hand side of the east elevation is a wide opening with double-leaf doors of vertical planks and long strap hinges, followed by a second, smaller pair of doors and a small two-light window. The hay loft above has two hatches, one above the first door and another on the right-hand side. The photographic evidence does not clarify whether the doors are original. The west elevation is blind except for a double-hung door with strap hinges on the left-hand side.

The Outbuilding

The lower outbuilding, built against the gable end of the stable later in the 19th century, has a shallow pitched roof and is constructed of flint rubble. The east elevation features a wide opening with double-leaf doors with strap hinges, and the west elevation has a four-light wooden-framed window on the right-hand side.

Interior

Limited information is available about the interior, although photographic evidence shows that the rear 17th-century range retains a chamfered beam with a lamb's tongue stop, and the front range also retains a chamfered and stopped beam. The hall contains a pair of semicircular timber archways of unknown date, one providing access to the rear ranges and the other forming an opening to the open well staircase. Historic joinery, fireplaces and other architectural detailing, fixtures and fittings are reported to remain in place.