lewes heath house, horsmonden, kent. - Archaeology South-East

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Archaeology South-EastLewes Heath House, Horsmonden, Kent,Interpretative Historic building Survey Rev 00 / Nov 06dates are erroneously given as C16, altered and extended c.1700 and early C19 (in factC17 fragment (perhaps re-erected) with main range of c.1710, C18 extensions (rebuiltC20) and remodelling of mid C20). [Source: English Heritage, Images of England -website]. The description must not be treated as a comprehensive schedule of thoseelements which are legally protected as, no matter what the grade, the legislative covernot only relates to both the interior and exterior, but also extends to any building withinthe curtilage which predates the 1st July 1948.DETAILED ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTIONPERIOD A (17th C) [See Figures 3, 4 and 7]NOTEThe earliest part of the house is represented by the southern rear range. This two-baystructure may have been a crosswing added to an earlier house standing either to itseast or west, or it may represent a formerly detached outbuilding of unknown use. Yetanother scenario is that it is a secondhand frame re-erected at the rear of the newperiod-B house during period B in order to serve as a kitchen. Whichever of thesuggested scenarios is correct, the original form of the present rear range is describedhere under this 'Period-A' heading.LAYOUTThe rear range comprises two bays and measures 6.75 metres (22'1") long x5.50 metres (18'0") wide overall. On both the ground and first floor the entire two-bayarea formed a single room and chamber. There was a further 'room' within the roofspace. Due to alterations and subsidence, the original ground-floor storey height cannotbe estimated, but the first floor walls were a respectable c 2.15 metres (7'1") tallmeasured from original first floor (rebuilt higher in modern times) to top of wallplate.WALL DESIGN, WINDOWS AND DOORWAYSThe period-A walls have been rebuilt in brick on the ground floor, though the cut-offprincipal posts indicate that they were initially timber framed. At first-floor level theprincipal posts, wallplates and tiebeams remain exposed, as too do the northern andsouthern gabled roof terminals. From the peg-hole evidence within the side faces of theprincipal posts and the queen studs within the two gables, it seems clear that the wallsincorporate midrails and were therefore of small-panel type, a typical feature of the- 4 -
Archaeology South-EastLewes Heath House, Horsmonden, Kent,Interpretative Historic building Survey Rev 00 / Nov 06period. Of particular interest are the two visible principal posts (E1, F1) in the easternwall, both of which have shaped/ovolo-moulded heads to their jowls - a very distinctivefeature. Contrary to the implication in the list description for the building, moulded jowlsof this type are usually a late 17th- or early 18th-century feature. Curiously, the head ofthe only other exposed principal post (F2) has a jowl of standard swelling type. Thedifference is so marked as to suggest that the posts with moulded jowls represent laterreplacements. If the period-A frame was re-erected upon its present site duringperiod B, posts E1 and F1 could have been replaced at that time, or perhaps (if theframe represents the crosswing of an earlier building) they were replaced when thehypothetical earlier main range was demolished and replaced by the present main rangeduring period B.Two period-A windows are evidenced within the gables at roof level, positioned centrally,between the queen studs. That within the northern gable was made redundant when theperiod-B main range was built against it, whilst that in the southern gable was blocked atthe same period when the chimney (since removed) was inserted against this wall. Inneither case does the cill now survive: indeed, if the frame has been re-erected, it islikely that the cills were omitted during the rebuild. Other than their size, no details areknown regarding either the design of these windows or whether they were of glazed orunglazed type.FLOORS, CEILINGS AND STAIRSAlthough now masked by under-plastered ceilings, and despite the fact that the first-floorjoisting has been replaced by a new floor set at a slightly higher level, the design of thevisible crossbeam and tiebeam indicate that the original first-floor joists and attic-floorjoists ran north-south along the axis of the range, being jointed into the centralcrossbeam on the first floor and into the central tiebeam at attic-floor level. Curiously,only the central five attic-floor joists were pegged to the central tiebeam. No otherdetails are now exposed to view.Due to the existence of under-plastered ceilings and the replacement of the first-floorjoists, the position of the period-A stairs giving access to both the first floor and attic isunknown.CHIMNEYSNo original chimney position is recognizable within the period-A structure. It is knownthat a two-flue chimney was removed from against the internal face of the southern wallin the mid 20th century, but this blocked the site of the window in the gable and was builtwithin the frame (leaving the timbers intact behind it) and therefore must haverepresented a later (Period B) insertion. There is no evidence of sooting on the rafterswithin the roof, discounting the possibility of an open hearth.- 5 -
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Page 3 and 4: STANDING BUILDINGSARCHAEOLOGICAL IN
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Page 25: Head OfficeUnits 1 & 22 Chapel Plac

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