The Ancient House

The Ancient House, located on Church Lane in Walthamstow, is a former hall house dating from the 15th century that has been converted into several dwellings. The building features exposed timber framing with stucco and infill in the center and west wing, while the eastern part is clad in 18th-century weatherboarding. It has a steeply pitched plain tile roof with dormers at the center and two-storey jettied crosswings on the east and west sides. The western crosswing exhibits close studding with tension braces. The ground floor is underbuilt in brick and features 20th-century Neo-Georgian shop windows. The first floor of the western wing includes a three-light timber mullioned window, with similar windows in the gabled dormers, and casements with leaded lights. The upper floor of the east wing has a tripartite sash window, and there is a large square stack on the western wing that has been largely rebuilt.

Inside, despite the conversion into four apartments, much of the original timber frame remains visible. Notable interior features include a diamond mullion window, two stone fireplaces with four-centred arches in No. 8, and a moulded, octagonal crown-post that can be seen from inside No. 2. The Ancient House was restored in 1934 by Mr. Robert Fuller, under the supervision of architect Mr. C.J. Brewin, as a memorial to W.G. Fuller, head of the Fuller's firm of builders.