28-30, SOUTH STREET

28-30 South Street, Titchfield

A timber-framed house of early 15th-century date, with dendrochronologically-dated timbers of 1412/13. The building was originally constructed as a hall-house with a gallery to the west. It underwent alterations to the hall in the late 15th to early 16th century, was later subdivided into three cottages, and has experienced 20th-century modifications and additions.

The house is constructed with timber-framing, wattle and daub infill, and brick nogging, beneath a tile roof. It is rectangular in plan, comprising four bays oriented north-south.

The principal elevation faces west onto South Street. The house presents as a two-storey structure with a half-hipped tiled roof and off-centre chimney stack. The upper floor is jettied, though the jetty is absent from the northernmost bay. The timber-frame is exposed in medium-sized panels with rendered infill; wooden casements with small panes are set flush with the building line across both floors. Rendered and brick nogging infill is evident, with exposed timber-frame visible at ground floor level on the north and south gables. A red brick kitchen extension to the north-east and garage block to the south are later additions of no special interest. Evidence of former cottage doors is visible on the principal elevation.

Interior: The timber-framing is exposed throughout, divided into four bays. The former open hall remains discernible, featuring an aisled-form hall truss with a gallery across the hall. Ground floor contains evidence of the original partition between the hall and sitting room, marked by a substantial post to the west. The sitting room fireplace has a large chamfered bressumer with cupboards either side; one cupboard was formerly a bread oven. The study fireplace shares a chimney stack with the sitting room and features a chamfered spine beam with simple run-out stops; joists also bear stops. A former external wall at the north-east corner has been opened to provide access to a modern kitchen. The former lobby-entry doorway, visible in a historic photograph of circa 1906, is now a cupboard west of the study fireplace. A former external door in the south wall, now opening into the garage, retains substantial original planking. A jowelled post stands in the entrance lobby north of the front door. A modern dog-leg staircase occupies the north-west corner.

First floor features a former hall gallery, now serving as a landing, along the western side. Arched door-heads are cut into substantial tie beams. An angled brace supports a post dividing the northern two bays. Pegged joints are visible throughout. Large panels enclose the bedrooms and bathroom. Carpenter's marks appear on timbers in the dressing room north wall, alongside an exposed patch of wattle and daub. The roof displays substantial collar beams and side purlins with wattle and daub panels; soot blackening is evident on these and historic rafters, though some rafters are modern replacements.

Historical context: Dendrochronological analysis confirms that timber for primary construction was felled in the winter of 1412-13, indicating a construction date commencing in 1413, as green rather than seasoned wood was used for building. Further dendrochronological dates show that the hall was altered in the late 15th to early 16th century (between 1489 and 1521), when the open hall truss was partitioned and the end truss modified to create a smoke bay.

Originally built as a single dwelling, the house was subdivided into three cottages at an unknown date and remained so until the late 19th or early 20th century. A historic photograph of circa 1906 documents the house with its full-length jetty and two entrance doors positioned to the north and south, along with a blocked central doorway. The jetty at the northern end was partially removed following a vehicle strike in the late 20th century. In 1985, an apsidal kitchen/breakfast room was added to the rear (east elevation), and the roof was re-tiled that same year, reusing old tiles. Conservation restoration was undertaken in the early 21st century to remove cement render and repair and patch failing timbers.

Titchfield retains several other medieval houses, reflecting its former importance as a tidal port. Nos. 28-30 South Street is a significant survival of a late medieval town house of middling status; such urban survivals are considerably less common than rural medieval houses and reflect the mercantile vitality of the historic town.