Chittenden House

Chittenden House is a late 16th-century timber-framed house, which was originally a farmhouse, but may have been a special purpose building such as a hunting lodge. The building was reclad and extended in the 18th century, and further extended and refenestrated in the 19th century. The right-hand part of the house dates to the late 16th century. The ground floor is of red brick with some black brick headers; the upper part is tile-hung. It has a tiled roof and is two storeys and attics high, originally L-shaped but made square in the early 18th century. The front has a gabled, slightly projecting section with later bargeboards, and contains a late Victorian casement window. A tiled porch stands on wooden piers. The right side elevation features a massive ragstone external chimney stack with a moulded plinth, tumbling in with late 16th-century brickwork and two diagonally placed flues. A probably late 16th-century, two-light wooden mullioned window with ovolo mouldings is to the left of the chimney. The rear elevation has a single-storey 19th-century extension. The left-hand part is an early 18th-century addition, of a lower elevation, constructed of red brick in Flemish bond, with some vitrified headers and a tiled roof with a brick chimneystack. This section contains two 3-light casement windows with cambered head linings to the ground floor. The original central doorcase has been altered to a window, and the original right-hand window was removed for a small 19th-century extension. To the left is an attached, single-storey 18th-century dairy, brewhouse, or bakehouse, constructed of matching materials, with one 3-light iron casement with pintle hinges. It has a catslide roof to the rear. The wall plate displays some exposed 18th-century framing with diagonal braces. A gabled 19th-century extension is situated to the left of the rear elevation and is of brick and tile-hung construction. The interior includes a fire brick open fireplace with a deep oak bressumer with a 1-inch chamfer and run-out stops. Two bread ovens were removed to the right-hand side. Ceiling beams in this room possess 2-inch chamfers. The first floor features a panelled room with late 16th-century plank and muntin panelling. The attic storey contains a good 19th-century iron fire grate. Notable features include an unusual double queen post roof with curved windbraces, and an 18th-century through purlin roof. The original part of the building contained few rooms for a farmhouse, and evidence of blocked windows and weathered timbers suggests it was not part of a larger structure. This, combined with the high-quality framing, points to it having been a special purpose building, possibly a hunting lodge associated with nearby Boons Park.