The Grange

The Grange is a farmhouse, possibly of medieval origin, with significant alterations and additions dating to the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and minor 20th-century changes. It is located in Churcham, Church Lane. The building is constructed of random rubble at the base of the cross wing, with the rest of the structure featuring exposed timber framing and brick in English bond or an irregular pattern. The roof is tiled.

The plan consists of a long main block with a cross wing and a rear projection. It is two storeys in height, with an attic in the cross wing. The front of the house, featuring the cross wing on the left, has a stone plinth, and brickwork above the ground floor. A three-light wooden casement window is visible, with weatherboarding above. Close studding is visible above, without openings, framed by the ends of the brick side walls. An exposed collar truss is present, with struts, V-struts, and a small two-light window in the apex. A plain brick chimney sits on the ridge in the centre of the wing. A single-storey wing projects to the left, with a hipped, leanto roof and an ‘L’ shaped porch with a glazed upper half. A two-light casement window with leaded lights and a cambered brick arch is situated to the right of the porch, marking a vertical joint in the brickwork. A door with a heavy timber frame and flat head, with weatherboarding overhead, is located beside a four-pane casement. Further along is a boarded door with a cambered brick arch, leading to a cider house, accompanied by a short projecting single-storey wing. Above the porch, a two-light casement is visible, and a gabled dormer sits on the right. Dentil eaves are present to the right of the vertical joint, with a brick chimney on the ridge.

Inside, a moulded wall post, likely medieval, is found in the entrance hall, jowelled for a heavily-chamfered floor beam. Timber-framed cross walls are exposed on the first floor of the main block, and heavily-chamfered floor beams are present on the ground floor of the cross wing. A Jacobean-style overmantel with Corinthian columns is present in a rear ground floor room of the cross wing; it may have been brought from elsewhere. The end of the main wing includes a cider mill and press, both in good condition and complete. A room above originally served as a granary with external steps on the gable, but a dormer was added and roof trusses altered in the early 20th century. Alterations are attributed to the architect Mr. Trew.