The Crook

The Crook is a house that likely dates from the late 17th century and was extended in the 1930s for Janet Simpson, an artist. The original 17th-century section features framed construction, with English bond brick on the ground floor and tile-hung walls above. The 1930s extension is also built of brick and tile-hung, topped with a peg-tile roof and brick stacks.

The house faces south and has a two-storey, asymmetrical design with a 2:2 window arrangement. The right (east) end consists of a 17th-century two-cell plan, where the larger room is heated by an end stack, while the left room is unheated and originally contained the staircase in the outer rear corner. The house may have originally had an integral outshut, which was later replaced by two short rear wings at right angles. The 1930s addition includes two rooms at the left (west) end, one of which serves as an entrance hall containing the staircase, and a second room at the far left.

The exterior features a recessed porch to the left of center with a 1930s timber front door and a 2-light casement window with diamond leaded panes alongside. Other windows are similar iron-framed 2 and 3-light casements with diamond leaded panes. The roof is gabled at the left end and half-hipped at the right, with a projecting right end stack that has set-offs.

Inside, the house remains remarkably unspoiled and virtually unaltered since the 1930s. The late 17th-century section retains exposed ceiling carpentry, including a scroll-stopped crossbeam. The partition between the two rooms has been partly removed, and the fireplace dates from the 1930s. The internal wall-framing is intact, featuring jowled wall posts, and the soft plaster infill is well-preserved throughout, which is unusual for the region. Original floorboards are present on the first floor, and there are extremely low doorways through the old partitions.

The roof, although not seen in detail, appears to be of clasped purlin design over the 17th-century part of the house, limewashed and plastered up to the apex.

Janet Simpson was a successful etcher and engraver, known for her subjects that included Brenchley village.