Knob's Crook

Knob's Crook

A house dating from the 16th century, originally built as an open hall house with timber framing. An end-chimneystack was added and the open hall was floored over in the 17th century. The ground floor was underbuilt in brick during the 18th century. Around 1900, a lean-to addition was constructed to the north, the western roof hip was replaced by a half hip, tile-hanging was added to the first floor, and the windows were replaced. A further northern outshot was added in the 20th century. The northern and western outshots are of lesser architectural interest.

The building is timber-framed with a brick underbuilt ground floor, a tile-hung first floor, and a tiled roof with end brick and stone chimneystack.

The plan originally consisted of two bays with a south chamber, and was modified to form a two bay end-chimneystack house with later outshots added to west and north. The building is two storeys with two windows.

The east or entrance front displays a Sussex bond brick ground floor with some vitrified headers, and a tile-hung first floor featuring two bands of two courses of brown curved tiles. There are two wooden 19th-century tripartite casements to each floor. At the northern end is a wide 18th-century ledged plank door set in a pegged architrave. The north end gable has exposed queenposts, tiebeam and collar beam, though the collar beam has been interrupted by the later insertion of the brick and sandstone end chimneystack. A 20th-century lean-to weatherboarded outshot conceals the lower part of this wall.

The south end is mainly Sussex bond brickwork, with the half hip and easternmost section of the first floor tile-hung. The west side has some timber framing exposed at the northern end, showing a corner post, midrail and two curved braces. Some infilling is lime plastered, possibly over wattle and daub, with the remainder brick infill over a brick ground floor. This elevation is largely obscured by a brick stretcher bond extension dating from around 1900, which has two casement windows, a cambered entrance to the south, and a blocked entrance to the north. A brick path abuts the base of the walls on all sides, shown on the 1876 Ordnance Survey map.

Interior features include a 17th-century open fireplace on the north wall of the ground floor north room, with a wooden bressumer and two spice holes. An alcove to the east of the fireplace contains a wooden latched three-plank door with butterfly hinges. The western side has a more recent plank door and was probably the site of the bread oven. The axial beam displays a deep three-inch chamfer with stepped ogee chamfer stop and incised witches' marks to avert evil. This is the original 16th-century beam supporting the chamber partition above the open hall; the partition below it, comprising three sections of box frame with a midrail, was inserted in the 17th century when the building was converted from an open hall to an end-chimneystack house, along with a ceiling of square joists.

The south ground floor room contains the reverse side of the axial beam and partition, which has a plinth on this side, and square-section ceiling beams. On the south side is a latched plank door opening onto a very steep ladder staircase placed sideways along the south wall.

The south chamber, originally the only first-floor room, contains wide rebated oak floorboards. The cornerposts and wallplates are visible, and the east wall has a curved tension brace and shutter groove for an original window opening of two diamond mullions, later replaced by a larger window. Some studs are exposed in the west wall, and the original 16th-century partition wall between chamber and open hall survives to the north with curved tension braces.

The north chamber, originally open to the roof, has later floorboards. The inserted tie beam in front of the chimney is a reused timber of 15th-century or earlier date. When the chimney was inserted at the north end, this room appears to have been unheated. Alcoves flank the chimneystack, with old floorboards in the eastern alcove and a latched two-plank cupboard door to the west with old hinges. Two queenpost roof trusses are visible. The roof space is reported to have clasped chamfered side purlins with collars and smoke-blackened rafters.

The circa 1900 western outshot, containing kitchen and bathroom, has no features of special interest.

The property first appears in records as Nobscrook in the 1827 Poor Tax, though it may have been associated with the landholding known as Durhams or Durromots, mentioned in records as far back as 1530. The probate of William Hard's will in 1837 refers to a house and garden called Nobscrook to be sold and its value divided equally amongst the family. The 1841, 1851, 1861 and 1871 Census returns show Edward Hard, an agricultural labourer, living at Nobs Crook with his family. In the 1881 and 1891 Census returns the property was occupied by William Phillips, an agricultural labourer, and his family. The 1891 Census shows Sarah Hard, widow of Edward Hard's son, and her sons living at Knobs Crook. Between 1916 and 1935 the property was occupied by Harry Palmer and family, who worked for Colonel Elmes of Lee Place, Pulborough. In 1945 the sales particulars of Lee Place Estate included Knobs Crook Cottage. Since 1951 the property has remained in the ownership of the same family.

The building appears on the 1876 and 1897 Ordnance Survey maps with a rectangular plan surrounded by trees and approached by a footpath to the north east. By the 1911 Ordnance Survey map the plan had become L-shaped following the addition of an extension to the south west.