Court Farmhouse

Court Farmhouse

This is a farmhouse and courthouse to the Bishop of Winchester, now a house, with an attached former outbuilding. The building dates from the first half of the 16th century, with additions and alterations in the early 18th century, late 18th century, and early 19th century.

The structure combines timber frame with plastered wattle and daub infill, where some has been replaced by brick infill. The south entrance elevation is of red brick in header bond, with the remainder mostly in Flemish bond with blue headers to the left return. Some flint is also present. The roof is covered with concrete tiles, while clay tiles cover the attached former outbuildings. The building is of two storeys with a partial cellar to the front range.

The rear north range is the former farmhouse of three bays, probably comprising a parlour, an open hall at the centre, and services. The right bay was rebuilt as a bakehouse and store in the late 18th century, and a narrow half-bay was added at the left end. Projecting southwards from this range is the former courthouse wing, which was separately framed but linked to the north range. It originally had four bays with a cross-passage at the north end. In the early 18th century the southernmost bay was truncated and the whole range refronted, incorporating a three by three bay addition on the east side. A former outbuilding of the late 18th or early 19th century is linked to the west side of this range.

The entrance elevation displays five symmetrical bays with a plinth. The central bay projects slightly with a stuccoed doorcase featuring a plain entablative with attached half-octagonal columns, architrave, and a half-glazed door with glazing bars. The ground floor windows are late 20th-century replacement 12-pane sashes, taller than those above, with keyed gauged flat brick arches. The eaves are moulded, and a hipped roof with a tall external stack rises on the left. The left return has three first-floor windows and a single-storey link to the outbuilding, which is of one and a half storeys and three bays, with a board door on the left, a three-light window at the centre, and a blocked window to the right with a small window above. The outbuilding has stepped dentilled eaves and a gabled window rising from the eaves on the left, with the roof hipped on the right.

The rear north range has exposed timber framing with square panels and various small-pane windows. The left bay is of header-bond brick with stepped dentilled eaves and a projecting single-storey outbuilding roof hipped at the left end. A stack stands forward of the ridge between the left bays and another to the rear of the ridge at the right end. The right gable end has a segmental-arched board door and window on the ground floor, three windows on the first floor (the centre one blind), and a blind window above.

Interior

The rear north range retains significant timber framing with jowelled wall posts, large arch braces, chamfered wall plates, studs, chamfered beams (some at the left end with hollow stops), joists, floorboards, and a partition wall between the left-hand bays. A 16th-century roof survives over the left-hand bays, sooted over the former open hall. This roof features collared queen post trusses with braces from tie-beams to principal rafters and queen struts rising from the collars, two tiers of purlins, curved and reverse-curved wind-braces, and old rafters. The right-hand bay has queen-strut trusses, two tiers of butt purlins, and old rafters.

The 18th-century features of the north range include doors, architraves, and cupboards. The ground-floor left room has raised and fielded panelling. A stair ascends with column-on-vase balusters and columnar newels with ball finials to the landing balustrade. The right-hand bay contains a fireplace with two bread ovens.

The front wing has more concealed timber framing, but a chamfered, Tudor-arched doorway with sunk spandrels and an old board door survives on the ground floor at the rear, along with chamfered beams. The roof structure matches that of the rear range but with chamfered and stopped purlins.

The 18th-century interior elements include panelling, old doors, shutters, and architraves, plaster cornices, and fireplaces. A fine stair features a pulpitated closed string, vase balusters on tall plinths, fluted columnar newels, a ramped and moulded handrail, and panelled dado.

The former outbuilding has a brick floor, chamfered cross-beams, a stair with stick balusters and polygonal finials, and open arch-braced roof trusses.