Fairstead Farmhouse

TM 37 NE SPEXHALL WASH LANE

5/31 Fairstead Farmhouse

1-9-53 - II

Farmhouse. Late C16. 2 storeys and attics. Timber-framed, with timbers exposed on the front; plaintiled roofs. An internal chimney-stack with 4 attached hexagonal shafts on a square base, and a later plain stack added on what was formerly the end of the house, dated 1698. Spaced across the front are 4 full height Edwardian bays with brick bases and mullion-and-transom windows to each storey. In the roof, 4 hipped dormers with tile-hung cheeks and diamond leaded casement windows. This range has a basic 3-cell internal chimney and cross-passage form, but the 2 cross-passage doorways have been blocked and replaced by a lobby-entrance. A plank and muntin screen dividing off the entry from the hall is still in situ. Plain timbering and ceilings exposed inside: the main posts have long jowls, and there was tension bracing in the partition walls. The roof has clasped side purlins. An archway has been cut through the base of the internal stack to give access to a stair. The date on the end stack relates to converting the unheated service area into a heated kitchen. At the rear, a long 2-storey range, possibly originally a granary, has been converted into living accommodation, and linked to the main house by an Edwardian extension. There is also a lean-to corridor of the same date running along the back of the main house. These were designed by Louis Sarel, the architect responsible for the extensions to Spexhall Manor.

Listing NGR: TM3834879590