327-331 Crofton Road

Terrace of cottages at 327-331 Crofton Road, with a core dating to the latter half of the 18th century that was extended from the mid-19th century onwards.

The principal elevation is of red brick and hung-tiles, with rear elevations mostly of stock brick. The core of numbers 329 and 331 features box-framed timber construction.

The ground floor comprises three interconnected cottages (numbers 327, 329, and 331). Early additions were made to the south-west end and rear between 1841 and 1867. The later cottage at the north-east end (number 327), built by 1867, contains one larger front room, a pair of smaller rear rooms, a staircase set against the end wall, and a small kitchen added by 1896-97. The first-floor rear room of number 327 has been reconfigured to provide a passage linking this cottage with the rest of the range. The two western cottages each have one room at ground-floor level, with three bays to the centre and two to the south-west, with stairs located in the rear extension. At first-floor level, the two earlier cottages comprise three rooms and a rear corridor, extending into part of the north-western room of number 329.

The earlier western cottages occupy the five bays to the right of the principal elevation to Crofton Road. Two of the five ground-floor windows formerly served as entrances to distinct cottages, identifiable by infilled brick panels beneath the inserted windows and the absence of gauged segmental heads above the original windows. The south-western cottage (number 331) was slightly larger than its neighbour, with three bays and a central door compared to the two bays of number 329. The lower part of this section rests on roughly-coursed flint foundations. The exposed handmade red bricks show diagonal firing marks, suggesting a date range from the latter half of the 18th century to the early 19th century. A casement window at the south-west end of number 331 has bead-moulded edge detailing, consistent with this dating. Stacks at both ends of the early cottages are partially rebuilt with older bricks. The roof is clay-tiled, with the rear pitch re-laid with slate tiles. Only the upper part of the south-west gable is exposed, showing that the pitch was adjusted as part of the rear extension, with stock brick infilling the gap.

The later rear elevation to numbers 329 and 331 (added as part of the extension built between 1841 and 1867) is partially obscured by later extensions, but the exposed part is mostly yellow stock brick on a flint foundation. The original ground-floor windows and door have red brick segmental arched heads. The upper windows are not aligned with those on the ground floor and have been cut into the elevation using the wall plate in place of lintels. All windows are casement types with added tiled sills.

The later-added cottage (number 327) features a gable end at the north-east end of the building. The roof pitch of the gable is relatively shallow and the façade steps just forward of the western part of the range. Straight brick joints at front and rear indicate this section was added later to the pre-existing western cottages. The main elevation to Crofton Road has a pair of modern rectangular windows, with the ground-floor window inserted into a widened former opening. The front door, set under a segmental arch, is original. The north-east return elevation of number 327 has a later-added brick stack, with steel-framed windows inserted to the upper floor. At the rear are further multi-pane casement windows with segmental arched heads and closer bricks, all with replacement tile sills.

A square rendered-brick outbuilding attached to the later entrance porch is an early structure pre-dating 1841, possibly originally a store associated with a fruit plantation to the south-west in the early 19th century. It has a double-hipped clay-tiled roof with a chimney to its south-western pitch, a narrow boarded door and multi-paned window to the north-east elevation, and a further leaded casement window to the north-west elevation.

Interior elements of the timber frame survive throughout the earliest pair of cottages. The large ground-floor room at number 329 has a spine beam spanning the depth of the room with joists set square. The rear wall has timber studs with brick infill. In the south-west room (number 331), a further spine beam has joists running into the end walls. On the south-west side of this room is a large inglenook fireplace spanned by a substantial timber lintel with a chamfered lower edge. The inglenook has a stepped base and a low-level arch for a stoking pit to the left, above which is a niche indicating this functioned as an oven. A further small oven or smoking niche is positioned on the right side of the fireplace. Above the lintel, the chimneybreast has been clad in modern tiles, possibly post-dating 1972. On the north side of the inglenook, an arch has been cut into the south-west wall, providing access from the later-added western entrance which replaced the former front door to this room.

Behind the end south-west room is a simple straight-flight staircase with stick balustrades and a square newel post, possibly dating to the time of the rear extension (constructed between 1841 and 1867). The wall against which the staircase is built has its lower part clad in tongue-and-groove boarding, with elements of the timber frame exposed above: this upper section consists of a series of studs (some being thin and irregular scantling timbers), a diagonal brace, and a substantial mid-rail and wall plate.

No information is available on the extent of survival of historic fabric internally in the upper-floor rooms, the south-western store building, the later end cottage (number 327), or the roof space.

Outbuildings to the south of the cottages, a modern detached garage block, and a later freestanding structure to the west of the lean-to extensions are excluded from the listing as they do not contribute to the special interest of the building.