Old Tong Farmhouse

OLD TONG FARMHOUSE

A former farmhouse of circa mid-17th century date with early 20th-century alterations and incorporating a probably 18th-century former farmbuilding at the rear. The main block is of framed construction with the first floor tile-hung; the ground floor is partly underbuilt in brick and partly, on the front elevation, clad with imitation framing. The rear outshut is brick on a ragstone base; the old kitchen wing is weatherboarded on a ragstone base; the former farmbuilding is weatherboarded above a handmade brick base. There are two brick chimneystacks, one dressed ragstone stack with the masonry brought to course, all with brick shafts, and a peg-tile roof.

The building has a west-facing L-plan overall. The main block follows a two-cell plan with the hall to the right, heated from an end stack, and a smaller originally unheated room to the left with a rear outshut. The rear right wing, probably dating to the 17th century, is heated from an end stack and incorporates a stair cell. Evidence of an earlier stair adjacent to the stack was found during renovations. Beyond it to the east, a former farmbuilding has been converted to the present kitchen. The chamber over the hall, though now subdivided, was originally a high-status heated room and preserves remnants of an elaborate 17th-century scheme of painted decoration. The position of the original front door is unclear. The present entrance is an early 20th-century doorway opening directly into the hall, though an early 18th-century map of the farmstead shows a doorway on the east side for which there is now no evidence. The same map depicts the house as a single block without the rear kitchen wing. Early 20th-century alterations probably include the existing main stair, the attic stair, and the re-fenestration. The quality of the 17th-century detail suggests the house may have been larger at one time.

Externally, the building is two storeys and attic with separate cellars below the main block and the wing. The former farmbuilding to the east is single-storey. A symmetrical four-window jettied front features a central early 20th-century plank and cover-strip front door. The close studding of the ground floor has been applied to the earlier frame in the early 20th century. Two four-light early 20th-century ground-floor casements are present. The first floor has two small one-light contemporary casements in the centre and four-light transomed metal-framed outer casements; two gabled attic dormers complete the upper storeys. The remarkable feature of the front elevation is the moulded 17th-century fascia to the jetty with an order of foliage carving above an order of egg-and-dart decoration. Brackets to left and right are also elaborately carved. The massive stone stack on the right return, shown on an early 18th-century map, has a moulded cornice and three diagonally-set shafts, one of which is false. The left end stack is probably 19th-century. The catslide roof of the rear left outshut appears to have involved the partial blocking of a five-light transomed ovolo-moulded mullioned stair window, which now has only one light below the transom. A second, probably 20th-century entrance on the left return opens directly into the old kitchen.

Internally, the hall displays an unusual arrangement of scroll-stopped ceiling beams and exposed joists: two cross beams form narrow bays at either end, with the centre bay comprising two axial beams. The hall fireplace preserves the remains of moulded brick jambs and a chamfered lintel. Wider-spaced stone jambs are said to survive behind wall plaster where the existing lintel has been hacked back following reduction of the fireplace to its present size. Two three-light ovolo-moulded mullioned windows are preserved in the wall framing of the front elevation, blocked externally. The rear kitchen wing also preserves scroll-stopped ceiling beams and exposed joists; its fireplace has brick jambs and a chamfered lintel. The stair features a first-floor balustrade of probably re-used 17th-century turned balusters. The chamber over the hall has plain ceiling carpentry, probably always intended for plaster, and a fireplace with chamfered brick jambs and a slightly cranked lintel. This chamber has been divided into two rooms. The unheated room preserves two sections of wall-painting. A decorative grid design is divided into tiers with alternating bands of a lace-like design and panels containing painted cartouches in ochre, red and green. One section of painting is faded; the other is well-preserved. Fragments of further painting are visible on the jowled wall posts of the framing in both rooms. The chamber over the smaller room in the main block has plain ceiling carpentry.

The roof comprises three bays of tie beam with queen struts and clasped purlins; the queen struts are notably tall, providing ample space for attic accommodation. The roof over the single-storey former farmbuilding is three bays, with the southern bay narrower and built around the old kitchen stack. The design is also tie beam and queen strut with clasped purlins, crudely nailed together. The entire roof is heavily sooted, including the stack.

The house is said to have belonged to the Robarts family in the 17th century. In the 20th century it was part of the estate owned by the architectural historian Christopher Hussey and is said to have served as the bailiff's house.

An interesting vernacular house with high-quality features. The surviving paintwork is an especially rare survival.