Church Cottage And Parish Room

BATTISFORD CHURCH ROAD TM 05 SE

6/5 Church Cottage and Parish Room 5.8.80

GV II

House, mid C14; a rare example of a medieval priest's house, built close to the north side of the parish church. Remodelling of c.1520 and early C19. At the west end is attached the Parish Room of c.1840. House: 2 storeys, 2 windows. Built as an open hall house with integral croglofft (sleeping loft); converted to 2-cell end-chimney plan form c.1520. Timber-framed and plastered. Slated early C19 roof. External C16 chimney of red brick with tumbled-in weatherings; shaft collapsed above roof level. Early C19 small- pane casements and boarded entrance door. The house is in 2 bays only: a small service bay would also have been attached at the west end from C14 until c.1520. The hall was open at one bay: a cambered tie beam with a pair of heavy arch braces forms a central open truss, and there is evidence for a knee-braced beam supporting the 1st floor beneath. The heavy C14 floor joists are square and unchamfered. The north wall has complete studding, widely spaced with long tension braces, and at the west end is a blocked cross-entry doorway with one of a pair of thick knees which formed a 2-centred arched head. The wallplate has a long splayed scarf with undersquinted butts. The south wall was rebuilt in good close-studding c.1520: a blocked hall window has a very deep and once moulded cill and one moulded mullion remains. The C14 walling was painted with false close-studding to match. At this time an upper floor was inserted in the hall, with fine roll moulded joists and multiple roll mouldings to bridging beam and cornice. A partition wall with 4-centred arched doorway was inserted to divide off a parlour. A blocked lintelled open fireplace in the hall, and above it a chamber fireplace with 4- centred arch and a moulded surround, all in plasterwork simulating stone. The roof and east wall were rebuilt in early C19. Parish Room: gault brick.Hipped slated roof. Facing west: one storey. 2 windows, small-paned with pointed heads and intersecting glazing bars in the Gothic manner; a matching arched entrance door.

Listing NGR: TM0549154395