Slipe

Slipe, Twineham Lane, Twineham

A house, formerly a farmhouse, dating principally from the early 15th century. The building comprises an original rectangular plan consisting of a two-bay open hall with a two-storey west solar wing and an east service wing. A late 15th-century two-bay solar L-wing was added to the west (half since removed), the service wing was extended by one short bay, and a lean-to extension was added to the eastern part of the south side. The open hall was ceiled over in the late 16th century and a chimneystack inserted, replacing an earlier smoke bay. The building was restored in the 1920s and late 1940s with the addition of porches to the north wing and east side, which are not of special interest. A late 20th-century conservatory to the south west is also not of special interest.

The structure is timber-framed with brick or plastered infill and is roofed in Horsham stone slabs. The roof is gabled except for the east end, which is half-hipped, and features a tall off-centre brick chimneystack and an external brick chimneystack.

The north side of the main house displays exposed timber-framing, predominantly box framing but with some close-studding to the ground floor of the eastern service bay. The fenestration is mainly 20th-century casements with diamond leaded panes, but there is an earlier projecting first-floor triple casement to the left of the doorcase with a moulded base, supported on a carved bracket. The doorcase to the left of the chimneystack is constructed of durns with a 20th-century plank door. The east end first floor and attic storey has late 16th or early 17th-century box framing, but the ground floor retains earlier close-studding. The south side has two 20th-century casement windows, and further east a catslide roof extends down to the ground floor, which has further 20th-century casements. The west side has jowled corner posts and sawn-through curved downbraces, the bottoms removed to insert late 16th-century box framing, though some close-studding survives on the ground floor. The late 15th-century projecting western solar wing has exposed timber-framing with red brick infill. Its east side displays two first-floor tension braces and some close-studding to the ground floor. The west side is separately framed from the original house and contains some 16th-century brickwork and a small external brick chimneystack. The north gable has jowled end posts, though a further bay was demolished.

The interior retains numerous features of exceptional architectural interest. The ground floor eastern end preserves 15th-century ceiling beams. The service end and the east end wall of the former open hall feature a series of pargetted wattle and daub panels with various combed motifs. The two ground floor rooms, formerly the open hall, are fitted with 16th-century stop-chamfered spine beams and floor joists. The eastern hall bay contains a ten-foot wide open fireplace with a wooden bressumer and narrow brickwork with spice holes and a circular bread oven. The western hall bay has an eight-foot wide open parlour fireplace with a wooden bressumer and stone and brick surround. The west wall retains a late 16th-century plank and muntin screen. The west or solar end has ceiling beams of square section. The east side and solar wing contain 17th or 18th-century wooden winder staircases with central newel posts; the attic stair on the east side is now blocked. There is no direct communication between the east and west upper floors. The first floor main range and west solar wing are separately framed. The north solar wing displays an arched brace and two crownposts of square section with head braces to the southern one, and original floorboards survive. Over the former open hall are further square-section crown posts with head braces and downbraces. The western bay has a wide studded plank door on pintle hinges. A late 16th or early 17th-century fireplace with wooden bressumer and brick surround is located in the eastern bay of the former open hall. Smoke blackening and reused original rafters are reported to the roof structure.

According to the Victoria County History, Slipe was owned in the 16th century by the Pycombe family and throughout the whole of the 17th century by the Agates, although it was actually occupied from at least 1665 by James Cripps. In 1714 it passed to James Wood of Hickstead and became part of the Hickstead estate.