Brickfields

Brickfields

A 16th-century smoke-bay house extended in the 18th century and undergoing several later phases of alteration. From 1955 to 2016 it was home to artist and potter Mary Wondrausch.

The earliest part is timber-framed with walls now of red brick. Subsequent phases are predominantly red brick construction with some tile hanging and small areas of galletted stone. Windows are timber throughout, all casement type but of varying dates, most with square leaded lights. Doors are timber and the roof is tiled.

The building's principal elevation faces north-east (referred to as the north elevation). The plan divides broadly by date, with the small 16th-century house to the east and the later house to the west. A stair rises from within the later house to the first floor, then continues to attic level in the old house. The differing floor heights between the two parts create an ad-hoc arrangement, with the linear adjoinment producing a rambling plan and circulation space carved out as necessary.

The later house is tall and two-storied, presenting as the principal dwelling. It has a pitched gable-ended roof, a large external stack to the rear, and a smaller external end stack to the west. Internally on the ground floor is a larger hearth room to the east and a smaller parlour to the west, with bedrooms and a hallway above. The three-bay roof space is habitable with modified structure. Beams supported permanently by first-floor props tie the north and south elevations together over the heads of the first-floor windows, providing an attic floor level well below the eaves. The roof is broadly a staggered butt-purlin type with pegged rafters and queen-post trusses, though numerous changes have been made through removal and addition of timbers, probably first to improve habitable space and then to counter resulting structural problems.

The early house is low, being single storey plus attic. The original hearth room adjoins the east end of the later house, with the now sealed smoke hood to the east. The outshut, now the kitchen, wraps around the south and east sides of the early house, its roof plate lifted to give greater headroom.

The front elevation is painted, with the later house displaying polite aspirations. It has a string course and a symmetrical frontage arranged around a central six-panel door (panels now replaced with glass) with a flat hood over. To each side of the door at ground and first floors is a casement window with stone sill and gauged splayed brick arch. A skylight has been inserted into the roof slope. The earlier house has strong vernacular character with small segmental-headed ground-floor windows and an off-centre pitched-roof dormer above. The outshut provides secondary access at the front, entering directly into the kitchen through a six-panel door with the upper four panels now glazed.

The remaining elevations are idiosyncratic, formed of a selection of red bricks whose pattern and character, along with iron strapping of the large rear stack, hint at various phases of repair or alteration. Flat-headed roof dormers in the later house, a lean-to brick shed behind the rear stack, and a lean-to greenhouse are all 20th-century additions. The roof of the early house is deep, undulating and rather irregular with a gablet to the east. A distinctive feature is a small blind dormer near the ridge, created to give enough headroom for the stairs into the attic and possibly once glazed.

Interior

Beyond Wondrausch's artistic contribution, the interior reflects a modest, rural, multi-phase house which underwent relatively little alteration in the 20th century. Wall finishes are painted plaster with some structural timber exposed. There are both plank-and-ledge and simple panelled doors with early fittings. Flooring comprises a mixture of stone and brick, with timber floors above.

The hearth room of the early house has a very low ceiling with the frame exposed. There is a heavy spine beam with an ovolo moulding and carved stop, and some joists are also chamfered and stopped. There is a hearth beam and some framing of the smoke hood is visible; the opening has been bricked up but much of the smoke hood is believed to survive behind. The hearth room of the later house has higher ceilings but the floor frame is similar, if more regular, construction, with chamfered and stopped spine beam and joists. The wide fireplace opening is lined in exposed brick with a high hearth beam. The parlour is thought to have been panelled at one point, with more elaborate joinery probably dating from the early 19th century, including panelled and reeded window linings holding folding shutters and deep moulded architraves. A blocked window in the west wall has had display shelves inserted.

Wondrausch Decoration

This comprises both painted decoration and ceramic tilework. A notable feature is the fire surround in the parlour, formed of bespoke tiles in shades of red and green on a cream ground, together forming a stylised and very loosely Classical frame design. This is both an architectural intervention and a distinctive example of the style, materials and techniques for which Wondrausch is best known. Tiles in the bathroom feature the names of Wondrausch and her children, evoking the artist's long connection with the house. Other ceramic work includes tiles depicting chickens and quinces, subjects familiar to her work but less personal, executed in her distinctive style.

The most richly decorated room is the later hearth room, known by Wondrausch as the drawing room. The ceiling beams are painted with a wheatsheaf design, the north wall and chimney breast are brown with a creamy-yellow stencilled semi-abstract block pattern. Other walls have friezes of brightly-coloured repeat patterns featuring women in folk costume, vases of flowers, horses and abstract patterns. The scheme is strong but fragmented in parts, painted to fit around large free-standing pieces of furniture, as well as door and window openings. Wondrausch's former bedroom has a fire surround built for her and painted with brightly-coloured still life compositions. Several internal doors are painted with simple decoration and quotations. Other wall paintings include small stencil-work in the kitchen and a tasselled frieze painted around Wondrausch's bedroom at wall head, which has failed in parts.