Three Chimneys

MERTON MERTON SS 52 12 22/153 Three Chimneys - II

House. Circa mid C17 possibly a remodelling of an earlier house. Rendered cob and rubble walls. Thatch roof gabled to left end and rear wing, hipped to right end. Brick stack at right-hand end and one on each gable end. Plan: L-shaped plan with 2 rooms at the front either side of a cross passage and a further room behind the left-hand side. It is unusual for a small house such as this to have 3 heated rooms and it is reputed to have once been 3 cottages but this was probably a secondary arrangement. The house is unlikely to have been built in its present form and the rear wing was probably an addition - however it shares the C17 roof structure of the front range which suggests that the whole building may have been remodelled at that date. This is substantiated by the survival of an apparently earlier roof truss at one end of the front range. A C19 or early C20 outshut was added behind the right-hand end. Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 3 window front. On first floor are 2 circa mid C20 2-light casements to left and right below eyebrows in the thatch with a small C19 leaded 2-light casement between them. Below are 3 late C20 small-paned casements and C20 plank door to left of centre. Wing extends behind left-hand end with outshut adjoining it. Interior: Closely-spaced narrow-chamfered joists in right-hand room and rear wing. Each of the fireplaces has a roughly chamfered wooden lintel with run-out stops. Cloam oven with door in left-hand fireplace. Roof: The roof construction over main range and rear wing is of raised crucks with purlins and evidence of collars halved on with dovetail joints. However, towards the left end the rear blade of what might be an earlier truss survives very close to another truss with the mortice for a removed collar.

Listing NGR: SS5276712247