The Post Office

WESTERLEIGH

1096/0/10007 WESTERLEIGH ROAD 07-JUL-04 The Post Office

GV II House, possibly with church associations; later partly used as shop. C15; extended C17 and circa late C18 or early C19; altered circa late C19/early C20. Rendered stone. Clay double-Roman tile roof with gabled ends. Axial and gable-end stacks with later brick shafts. PLAN: South cross-wing is a C15 2-room plan range, originally with a central through-passage, and with a chamber above open to a 3-bay arch-braced roof. The through-passage partitions have been removed, but mortices on the soffit of the east head-beam indicate that there was a wide doorway from the passage to the larger east room; it is uncertain whether the west room was open to the passage or whether the first floor chamber was heated from a fireplace. In the C17 a lateral stack was built on the north side with a large fireplace heating the chamber and a wing was added to the north; in about the late C18 or early in the C19 a parallel range was built in the north west angle forming an overall rectangular plan. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 4-window east front; 3-window range to right has C19 3-light casements with glazing bars, plank door on left and circa early C20 pilastered double-fronted shop on right; gable-end of cross-wing on left with 4-pane sash on first floor over raking buttress. Left-hand [S] return 3-light casements and through-passage doorway at centre with chamfered wooden pointed arch frame and later plank door. Rear west, gable-end of cross-wing on right with C20 windows and 3-window range on left, three small 2-light casements on first floor and ground floor with lean-to porch on left and doorway on right, to right of which there is large C20 conservatory. INTERIOR: The south cross-wing: ground floor partitions on either side of through-passage removed, but head-beam on east side has grooves for screen, mortices for wide opening and mortices for joists; chamfered half-beam with broach stops and stone fireplace with replaced bressumer on east end wall; chamber above [with later partition and ceiling] open to 3-bay chamfered arch-braced roof trusses with cambered collars, chamfered tenoned-purlins with run-out stops, curved wind-braces [mostly missing] and complete with common-rafters; inserted lateral stack on north side of cross-wing with large fireplace heating chamber with chamfered timber bressumer with cyma stops. Range to north has chamfered cross-beams with diagonal stops and tenoned-purlin roof structure, the trusses with collars halved, lapped and dovetailed to the principals.