Matfield House

Matfield House

House, dated 1728 (from rainwater heads) with an early 20th-century rear wing. The 1728 building has been described as the work of the same architect-builder who designed Finchcocks near Goudhurst.

Construction and Materials

The main block is built in brick on sandstone ashlar footings, with a peg-tile roof featuring a central valley and lead rolls. Brick chimney stacks rise through. The brickwork varies in colour and coursing, with red brick dressings. The later wing is brick at ground floor level and tile-hung on the first floor.

Plan

The 1728 block faces south over Matfield Green. It is double depth with two rooms wide, entered through a central entrance into a rear centre stair hall containing a fine open well staircase. The position of original services is unclear from survey, though they may have been in a rear wing or basement. A rear right wing, described as "of recent years" in 1949, adjoins at right angles, with various further rear additions.

Exterior

The house is exceptionally handsome, of two storeys. The front elevation is laid in pink brick in Flemish bond with red brick dressings and rubbed red brick arches. Sandstone footings rise to half-basement level. The symmetrical south front has seven bays with the centre three bays slightly projecting forward. Left and right pilasters with moulded capitals and bases frame the elevation. A moulded brick cornice runs at first-floor level, with a deep moulded brick cornice below a staggered parapet topped by a stone cornice. The roof is hipped at the ends; end stacks have moulded cornices to their shafts.

Six stone steps lead to a recessed two-leaf front door in 18th-century style with fielded panels and panelled reveals. The doorcase has reeded pilasters and an entablature with a triglyph frieze, guttae and mutules. The bays flanking the door on both floors have tall round-headed 12-pane windows. The first-floor centre window is a round-headed 18-pane sash with spoke glazing bars to the head. The remaining windows are 18-pane sashes with segmental arched heads. Basement level has square-headed glazed openings to either side of the front door and segmental-headed recesses across the other bays, one glazed. Three first-floor attic dormers sit behind the parapet; the outer dormers are pedimented with lead roofs, whilst the centre dormer has a segmental arched lead roof. Two original lead downpipes survive, their rainwater heads dated 1728 and fixing brackets stamped with heraldic devices.

The left (west) return of the main block is in red brick with blue headers and a shallow stack. The parapet is plain with a moulded cornice that ramps up to the chimney shaft. One first-floor 18-pane sash with a segmental arched head is present. Steps lead up to a garden door, the upper half glazed with 12 panes and one large fielded panel below, topped by a top-hung six-pane overlight. A segmental rubbed red brick arch spans above.

The rear elevation of the 18th-century block is English bond brick with blue headers and red stretchers. A first-floor six-pane casement with four-pane overlight and a rounded-headed stair window with small panes are visible. A flat-roofed early 20th-century addition adjoins at rear left with sash windows, a moulded brick cornice at first-floor level and deep eaves with moulded eaves cornice. A panelled door with horizontal hood in 18th-century style provides access.

The right (east) return of the 18th-century block has a blocked doorway and a first-floor 18-pane segmental-headed sash. The early 20th-century extension beyond, set slightly back, is in a loosely 18th-century style with the first floor tile-hung. It features a front door with fielded panels and steps up beneath a porch hood on brackets. Sash windows of various designs, including tripartite sashes, are present. Three first-floor dormers with hipped roofs, two containing tripartite sashes, top the elevation. The west side of the wing follows similar treatment.

Interior

The interior was not available for inspection at the time of survey. Original joinery is known to survive. A fine early 18th-century open well staircase (documented in the National Monuments Record) features ramped wall panelling with fielded panels and Ionic pilasters. The open string balustrade has a moulded ramped handrail, floral brackets and three balusters to each tread, one iron twist, one barleysugar and one fluted, each on vase bases with Ionic capitals. Other features of interest are likely to survive.