The Old House

The Old House is a Wealden hall house, dating from the mid-15th century. It has been extended in the 17th century and altered and extended in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The building is largely timber framed, now encased in brick and render, with a small portion of brick construction. It has a steeply pitched, hipped roof covered in old tiles, with gables at the rear. Originally an L-shaped building of three by one framed bays, only two bays of the original front section remain, representing the former hall and screens passage. Parts of bays to either side of this section survive from a 18th-century rebuild. Rear extensions have been added. The house has two storeys and a basement. A mid-16th century chimney is inserted to the left of centre, and a tall 19th-century chimney is on the right of the roof slope; both have offset heads and clay pots. The front has four bays with sash windows containing glazing bars. A six-panelled entrance door is located to the left of centre, set within a doorcase of pilasters, cut scroll brackets, and an open segmental pediment, and it features a brass lion head door knocker. Internally, a mid-19th century cast iron fireplace is in the dining room, with an 18th-century niche to the left containing an 18th-century painting of three female figures. Two further early 19th-century cast iron fireplaces are found in two bedrooms. The roof structure is a queen strut roof with clasped purlins and reducing principal rafters. A central hall truss has chamfered brackets and a collar, all blackened by soot, along with curved wind braces.