The Dower House

THE DOWER HOUSE

House, circa 1680-90, with minor later modernisations. Built in Flemish bond red brick on coursed sandstone footings, with brick stacks and chimneyshafts (mostly original) and a peg-tile roof.

The house faces east-north-east and follows a plan characteristic of its period. The main block contains an entrance hall with a projecting rear lateral stack recessed between two crosswings that project forward at each end. The parlour crosswing is to the left (south) and the service crosswing to the right (north), though the kitchen was originally located in the cellar below the parlour. Both wings have projecting outer lateral stacks and were probably originally single rooms but are now divided into two rooms each. The original stair rises alongside the entrance hall between it and the parlour. In many respects, the layout and appearance resemble a miniature version of Groombridge Place. The house rises to two storeys with cellars and attic rooms in the roofspace. A small two-storey twentieth-century service extension projects to the rear right.

The facade is not quite symmetrical, with a 1:2:1-window arrangement. All windows are flat-faced and mullioned, most set under low segmental brick arches. Before 1944, a shop occupied the front end of the right wing. Bomb damage that year resulted in its replacement by the present two windows, and some other windows were renewed at the same time, though many original frames survive. All contain rectangular panes of leaded glass with iron-framed casements, most of which were replaced after 1944. The gabled dormers, one to each front wing, retain original glass and iron casements with good wrought iron catches. The recessed front of the entrance hall features a doorway flanked by four-light windows, with a continuous oak lintel over all three. On the outside, a row of three segmental arches springs from sandstone blocks shaped to receive the brick arches. The doorway has an original ogee-moulded oak frame with a mullioned overlight and contains a six-panel door. A brick flat band runs at first-floor level. The eaves are plain, and the main roof and crossroofs are hipped. Similar windows appear to the rear, with many retaining original frames and some original glass. A particularly attractive early nineteenth-century French window at the back of the parlour wing features a panelled base with margin panes around a diamond pane pattern. In front stands a good ornamental trelliswork porch with a segmental roof.

Interior modernisation has been limited to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and remains largely superficial. The original house is essentially very well-preserved. The entrance hall contains a large fireplace with a chamfered oak lintel. Other fireplaces are blocked. The parlour fireplace features a good nineteenth-century chimneypiece with a Sussex iron grate, and the chamber above has a possibly original bolection-moulded chimneypiece. Most beams are clad with plaster, but those exposed are chamfered, with the parlour chamber beam displaying a kind of double scroll stops. The exposed wall framing consists of relatively slight scantling with straight braces. The roof comprises tie-beam trusses with A-frames and butt purlins. The staircase is of good quality, with a straight flight between wall partitions rising to the first floor, where a short balustrade on the landing features square newel posts with ball finials. The dogleg stair to the attics has vase-shaped splat balusters. Several two-panel doors are found throughout the house. The cellar contains a large kitchen fireplace, wine rack alcoves, dairy slabs, and similar features.

This very attractive house forms part of a group of unusually well-preserved houses related to Groombridge Place, which together compose the village of Old Groombridge.