THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES Old Cottages & Farmhouses in Kent & Sussex OLD COTTAGES AM) FARMHOUSES i\ KENT AND SUSSEX ILLUSTRATED IX ONE HUNDRED PLATES PRINTED IN" COLLOTYPE PROM A SPECIAL SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS 1AKI.X BY W. GALSWORTHY DAVIE WITH SOME DESCRIPTIVE NOTES AND SKETCH By E. GUY DAWBER, Architect I ONDON : B. T. BATSFORD, 9+ HIGH HOLBORN l yOO HA 32 cr PREFACE WHEN, two years ago, Mr. Galsworthy Davie showed me a number of photographs that he (an amateur) had been taking during a short tour through some of the small towns and villages of Kent and Sussex, I was struck not only by the charm and interest of man\- of the subjects, but also by the excellenc- the photographs themselves. M . Davie, for some year member of the Architectural Profession, ami no mean draughts- man, possesses the well trained eye of the artist, and this has availed him much in the choice, not only of his su : ' I , but also of the point of view, and, on turning over the collection, I felt that it* 1 could induce him to make a further tour, and take tor me some more examples of the charmingly picturesque Old Cottages and Farmhouses for which these two Counties are so famous, I should be able to make of them a book that could not tail to please many — Architects, Artists, Archaeologists, and others — who delight in the quaintly-beautiful architecture that still remains to us in our villages and hamlets as yet almost undisturbed by modern devel ments — or improvements ! This done, 1 realised how greatly it would add to the inter; I and value of the views if they were accompanied by some short I account of the chief features of the buildings, marking their varying types and the chai that took place in their construction anil general treatment, and in Mr. Guy DawbER 1 was fortunate in PREFACE vi. • i one an Architect, an Archaeologist, and a devoted lirer of these simple, yet picturesque buildings, already well ■ I with man)- of the subjects chosen. To him I am indebted valuable " Descriptive Notes and Sketches " whicli precede the plates, and add so much to their interest and to their usefulness for pur] of study. S ould this volume meet with the appreciation I venture to e tor it, 1 shall shortly issue a companion illustrating the same humble class ot buildings from other counties, for which purpose I hive already secured a number of photographs by Mr. Davie. The Publisher. ber, 1 900. LIST OF PI. A I I Arranged Alphabetically under Tom and Villages in ba< h Coi n i y. KENT. CANTERBURY, House in North Lane Falstaff Inn, St. Dunstan's Stkeei 1 1< a si ix St. I >unstan's Stri e i Houses by King's Bridgi CRANBROOK, Studio oi Mr. F. D. Hardy - si i Wni i si. i y GrI : N CHARLTON, Col rAGi ai GOUDHURST, Church Housi ... 84 [tages ai - - - 55, 81 • • si 1 Pattj nden - ... Smugley Farm .... iu HARRIETSHAM, I'.i 1 1 Farm Housi .... HAWKHURST, Cottagi s at ..... M irkbt Cross I l"i se • The Workhousi HIGH' . \Ti . II iwkhursi Placi • i s I sii.,i Cottages HOLLINGBOURNE, Six Hi 1 is iw HORSMONDEN, C01 rAGi s at - - 31, SI l SUA! LBRIDGl ... Swiggshoi 1 Farm hoi - - 53 VUL Old Cottages in Kent and Sussex PLATE LAMBERHURST, Housi at ----- 5 1 MINSTER (Isli of Thanet), Cottages at - - - 54. 9 8 ORPING rON, Coi i tfii at - - - - 75i 7^ PATTENDEN, near Goudhurst, Cottages at- - - 28 The Manor House - - 1, 2 PENSHURST, Cottage ix Churchyard - - 39 Cottage at ----- 5° "Swaylands" ----- 56 n SISSINGHURST, Collins Farm ----- 4 6 Houses at - - - 97 Kino's Head Inn - - • - 4* SMALLBRIDGE, nlar Horsmonden, Cottage at - - -'9 SWANTON STREET, Cottages at 3° SUSSEX. a -> rONBRIDGE, House at ------ 3 n-.N rERDEN, Cottages ai - - - a- 2 ^ l6 » x 7 WICKHAMBREAUX, The Post Office - - - 73,74 WILLESLEY GREEN, nlar Cranbrook, House at - - 9 ALFRISTON, The Clergy Holm. 7 Star Inn - - - 66 AMBERLEY, The Castle ----- 57 Farmhouses at - - - - 59, 6° BECKLEY, Horseshoe House ----- 37 Yew Tri e Farm ... -24 BILLINGSHURST. Greai Daux Farm - - - - 68 Ll I I M 1'l.AI I BURW \MI, Con \<.i b \i BURY, Farm housi at - - BYWORTH, NEAR E > BTWORTH, COTTAGl AI CHIDDINGLEY, Stoni hii l Farm I \ II- S. m \k Fn ll EWORTH, Coi rAQl M EASEBOURNE, near Midhurst, Cottages \i - FITTLEWORTH, Cottagi - ai - BE COATES HARDHAM, ni \u Pulborough, Cottage at - HELLINGLY, Housi sear Churchyard HORSHAM, -i i North Strei i HOUGHTt )N. Farmhoi sb at 77 HURST GREEN, Cottagi at - LITTLE DIXTER, sear Northiam. Cottage ai I'llll 7- l.v ',i MAYFIELD, Cottages u - - 45, •■ The Middle 1 l< >usi " 13, 14 MIDHURST, Coi 1 uses ai i 1 h lURNE ... - NORTH STREET, sear Horsham, North Chapel - RTHBRIDGE STREET, near Robertsbridge, Cottages \i j.- iRTHIAM, 3E1 l.i 1 hi. Dixit k- : ! Si RAWB1 RRY HOLE The \\'i 11 Housi Vi w Tree Farm ----- PETWORTH, Bi w Lodgi . Ni w Grovi Lai I \i - - - - - 21 TILLING! ... . x. Oi.n Cottages in Kent and Sussex PLATE PULBOROUGH, Cottages at ... - 27,49 in Farmyard - - - 100 see hardham ----- Rose Cottage ----- 62 ROBERTSBRIDGE, see Northbridge Street - Seven Stars Inn - - - 11 RYE, Cottages at - - - - - - 99 Houses in West Street ----- 15 Mermaid Ixx ... _ . 82 SEDLESCOMBE, Cottages at - - - 23,52 Queen's Head Inn 83 Strean Farm ----- 40 STEYNING, Brotherhood Hall Grammar School - 80 STRAWBERRY HOLE, fear Northiam, Cottage at - 5 TICEHURST, Limden Farm - .... 44 " Shortridges " ----- 71 " Shoyswell ------ 34 Witherenden Mill - - - - 96 TILLINGTON, near Petworth, House at - 47,70 WEST BURTON, Cottage at - - - - - 19 OLD COTTAGES & FARMHOUSJ IN KIN I 6c SUSSEX DESCRIPTIVE NOTES WD SKETC1 II - BY E. (.IV DAWBER. TIN''. Domestic Architecture of England is :i subject so well worn, that in dealing with any portion of it, it would be difficult, it' not indeed impossible, to av< »und that has already been made familiar to most <»t thi who take an interest in it ; hut in its humbler phases which we see around us in the form of cottages and village buildings, there are many points of interest that are apt to he overlooked ami which may with advantage be inv< I The architecture of the larger houses, which lias been the subject of so much research, lies somewhat in a category In' itself, and 'less owes much to foreign influence ami execution. It is, therefore, amongst the smaller ami m homely buildii tandin lestly by the way- side, that we must look to find work conceived ami carried out by I h han Perhaps we do not sufficiently realise that it is this old je architecture that has made the inhabit our country so picturesque, and has adde ready the i. Pan< 1 1 1 1. ill, H ITAGES AND FARMHOUSES tnd hamlets, for the forms and colours rm-houses arc almost always pleasing in their surroundings. • Kent and Sussex possess many points and , and no attempt therefore is made to deal v novel standpoint, or to trace their his- evolution, hut merely to draw attention to .'. features hoth in their design and construction. les of the poor in rural districts during the • • . crty of their materials and the fragile trucl >n, have long since disappeared, so that At little of their nature and extent, but in the earliest t have been but few in number, for many of the lept under the roof of the master's house, and dent on him for their maintenance. It was only in me sort of independance had been attained, bodes, and even then they must have lived [Ualor and wretchedness, for, with walls of ie, roofs of thatch or straw, windows uno;lazed. of lure earth, they could have been but comfortless • thout fear of contradiction, that the love of i one of the national characteristics of English- • tent this trait is borne out in the manner in tions of the country are treated— fields set Iges and fences, the roads well kept up and -y man, whether a large landowner or village cither with his many acres, or his simple cottage able in the country itself, in the houses I\ T KENT AND SUSSEX. and cottages it is even more so, for here each seems built for com- fort and convenience, and suits its position, showing more than anything else, that what is best adapted for its purpose is the most beautiful. The old country cottages and yeomen's houses still remaining are well worthy of care and regard, if only for the simple lessons they teach us of the beauty of fitness of purpose. They never pretend to be anything but what they are, and there seems to be no effort in either their construction or ornamentation, but merely a simple handing on from generation to generation of well-worn and tried tradition. There is, as a rule, nothing fantastic in their outline, or frivolous in detail, qualities which invariably spoil the character of any building by detracting from its simple dignity. One of the main features of building generally in the olden time, was suitability to situation and the use that was invariably made of the local materials at hand. The geological formations of England not only give a distinctive character to the districts which they compose, but also to the buildings themselves, and where we find the materials that nature provides used in any given part of the country, there without doubt do we see the most beautiful architecture, because it is the most appropriate. Con- sequently there still remain even amongst the fast vanishing and ever changing relics of the past, examples ot homely and un- pretending building, as full of vitality and interest as many of the larger and more noticeable edefices. In certain districts throughout the country we meet with well defined styles, which for many years were carried on with but little change. The detail and design varied perhaps with the introduction of fresh ideas and newer fashions from time to time, but the legitimate use of the local materials was still adopted on the old ! fAGES AND FARMHOUSES ■ e extent influenced the character or trace in the architecture of a country the structure, and in the counties under ecially noticeable, tor we find typical and I tyles, as eloquent of thought and vitality 1 land. I builders certainly used well-known traditional forms iut in a way and with such a freshness and in- lent, that each house seems to stand out distinct ir, though we acknowledge at once that every ir and what we have seen before. Perhaps it is •. of idea that throughout this district permeated f the work and gives it such a broad and dignified erever we turn and carefully examine the old trill remaining, we find the same evidences of a fertile le the best of its opportunities, and by so doing ■ factory results. 5, like its neighbouring counties Kent and Surrey, riculture ; but though it no longer ranks as a centre, it at one time contained the Birmingham of an I carried on an enormous trade in iron. 1 i:ch the iron was first worked is lost in bable that the Britons had already discovered re the invasion of the Romans. The trade throughout the Middle Ages, until in the i6th nturies the iron works of Sussex were of very great ' onsumption of wood, and the consequent ts, .oupled with the improvement in the production of iron too costly, and the IN KENT AND SUSSEX. 5 trade gradually died out, until at the commencement of the 19th century it ceased to exist as a local industry. Throughout the district there are numerous remains of Sussex iron work, the chief, and by far the finest specimens being the iron monumental slabs found in many of the churches. In Wadhurst Church, amongst others, there are in the floor of the chancel and nave some score of finely executed examples, dating from 1625 to 1720, with lettering, heraldic charges, and coats of arms, modelled and cast in very strong relief, and in the church- yard of Brightling there is an upright cast-iron head-slab over an inch and a quarter thick, dated 1760, with modelled wreaths of fruit and flowers, surmounted by a moulded cornice, an interesting though somewhat late example of the iron-caster's art. In many of the old farm-houses iron fire-dogs and fire-backs can yet be met with, many dating to the building of the house itself. The entire weald of Kent and Sussex was formerly covered with thick forests, and until their destruction for use in smelting the iron ore, extending over many centuries, most houses were built of timber, only the larger and more important ones being of stone or brick. The timber houses of this district, of which even in their disguised form a great many remain, constitute a class somewhat by themselves, and though mutilated to a great extent both in plan and elevation, they yet show us pretty clearly the arrangement of a yeoman's house in the 1 6th century. The most usual plan was practically a continuation of the old mediaeval one — an oblong hall or common room in the centre, with offices or other rooms at cither end, forming wings; sometimes the wing was built at one end only, but more frequently the plan was symmetrical. This type of plan indeed was the prevailing one throughout iTTAGES AND FARMHOUSES ■!y the origin of the E and H shaped •nore extensive scale, which developed in the i i and James I., but throughout Sussex and mc modification of it, in nearly all the houses I i actually the plan became enlarged or altered, » the 1 ntury it lost its distinctive character, though for i'-.ncd the type of the English country house. ; earliest arrangements the plan was a simple parallelogram iking forward, and the upper storey at the floor . r sometimes carried around the entire building. Of : rmer plan a beautiful, though much mutilated, •ill remains in the Manor House at Pattenden, in Kent i _ , which dates from the early part of the 1 6th been built for the Standard Bearer of Henry VIII. 1 1 have the central dining room or hall, with a beamed 2 deeply and richly moulded. The wings itly, that on the right containing the original entrance el window adjoining. The upper part and the flanking out at the floor level, and the roof taken over house independently of the projecting wings, with upporting the plate between— indeed this recessed • -he centre is, as it were, a typical feature of the houses, and can be seen again and again throughout St«.ne Hill Farm, near Chiddingly, and the Inn at H >urne (plates 3 and 4), may be mentioned as typical thers are shown on plates 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. nt a few words may not be out of place with early timber houses. Broadly speaking, as they >ther in plan and elevation, to a certain degree, so •action— which is simple in the extreme, and IN KENT AND SUSSEX. though doubtless well known to the majority of architects, some account of it may yet be of interest to those who have not analysed the clever method of their framing. The plan was set out and a base or foundation wall built, generally of brick or stone, high enough to keep the cill well above the ground. Into this cill-piece heavy storey-posts of timber, some 8 or 9 inches square, were fixed upright, about 7 or 8 feet apart, those at the angles being generally larger and formed of the butt of a tree placed root upwards, with the top part curving diagonally out- wards to carry the angle posts of the upper story, as shewn in fig. 2 and in the examples on plates 2, 3, 4, 5, and 56. Upon these main posts beams were laid across the building, project- ing forward some eighteen inches in front of the framing below, those to the angles being set diagonally, and shewing (with the others) in the rooms inside. Into these beams others were connected longitudinally, and to these latter again the floor-joists were tenoned, projecting the same distance as the main beams mentioned above. In the 1 6th century work the ends of the joists were covered with a large and deeply- moulded facia (see fig. 3), but in the later examples this was abandoned and the ends of the joists were merely rounded off, shewing as in examples on plates 1, 8, and t,^. The framing ot the -Angle Post, Pa tt ende 11, Kent. afhuPlasrer S off "if .. | .TTAGES AND FARMHOUSES • Uowcd that of the -round floor, the plate or of the overhanging timbers. I a mere timber skeleton, and, well advanced, had to be propped and stayed I -slots to p i • 11 shew- • bers on the f many of the h< I between the ere filled in with framing, the timbers •lerally about art and nearly as much th, the closeness of ■ _ one of the • early work ; and : until later that they t furl - apart and curved, braces introduced. The divisions between the timbers . with wattles or laths, and chopped straw and clay, plastered flush with the woodwork. Farm, near Goudhurst, and Stonehill Farm, near wn on plates 3 and 10, the method of framing the dearly seen, as the overhanging part is divided into 1 the construction both inside and out can be examined. I were chiefly built of oak, which generally shrinks, reat measure depended upon the security and tenons. When, therefore, in time the joints ved, and the buildings settled, they were, in Fii — Sinugley Farm, Goudhurst, Kent. Detail of overhanging part. IN KENT AND SUSSEX. 9 order to keep out the weather, either plastered all over on the outside, hung with tiles, or covered with deal boarding — indeed, very many of the tile-hung houses are the old 16th century timber- framed ones in a new shell. A particularly fine one is that in the main street in Robertsbridge, given on plate 1 1, and although now completely transformed, this example contains most of its old features intact. The smaller house at Tenterden, on plate 12, may be instanced as another example. In general character and appearance these timber-framed houses bear but little resemblance to those of Shropshire or Lancashire. We miss the elaborate setting out of panels with diapering and cusping, and as a rule find only the plain vertical timbering, varied with the introduction of curved braces, as at May field or Rye (sec- plates 13, 14, and 15). The quaint village of Tenterden, so renowned for its steeple and the legends connected with it, contains two houses, shewn in plates 16 and 17, which are typical of the early 1 6th century work. The smaller one is delightful in its quiet simplicity, and yet rich in strong detail. Its doorway was originally central, with a bay on either side, but one only, on the left hand, now remains. The ends of the joists as at Pattenden and in all the early examples, are covered by a boldly moulded facia, and the main beams, between the joists, carrying the projecting upper part, are emphasised by the curved supporting brackets under them. A moulded cill runs through as a string, and breaks forward around the oriel windows, placed centrally over the bays below, and the steep tiled roof crowns all. The whole composition, though maimed and modernised, is yet delightfully simple; there is nothing in it, indeed it may be only a fragment of a larger front or longer house, but as it now stands it is full of quiet charm and repose. D CO! fAGES AND FARMHOUSES , the rooms were low, seldom more than • .'. brought well down on to the side is were frequently badly lighted and use was made of the large space in the roof bles were introduced and windows arranged in re taken up higher, and good rooms resulted, but in the bedroom accommodation was necessarily bad. % *+'l m _ . 4-ffi : ' i he Lion" Inn, Kent. Fig. 5.— "The Lion " Inn, Wingham, Kent. Details. a rule were small with moulded wooden frames and is, filled with lead lattice glazing. Most of the original ones ere the houses have been tiled or weather boarded, tion more in keeping with the times have been nough remain to show pretty well what they were len there are several treated as oriels, swuncr IN KENT AND SUSSEX. 1 1 forward slightly on richly moulded cills, or on cut and shaped brackets, as on plates 18, 19, 20 and 21. The cornice at the top is moulded, and generally carried close up under the eaves, or projecting gable over. Sometimes the angle mullions had shafts with moulded caps and bases worked upon them, though these are only found in early work. In Canterbury (fig. 8.) there are several good windows, and in the village of Wing- ham in Kent, at the "Lion" Inn, there is a remarkably picturesque one carried out Fig. 6. — Bay Window, Rochester. Head *-/ Fig. 7. — Bay Window, Rochester. Details. on brackets over the entrance doorway, having the upper portion of the four lights filled with tracery, as shown on rigs. 4 and ;. Another effective arrangement was to place a bay window, sometimes swung out on the first floor only, as in the examples given from Rochester above, figs. 6 and 7, but more frequently earned up I I »TTAGES AND FARMHOUSES ible which projected forward on brackets I here are many instances of this amongst the tj and typical ones are given from , Sed >mbe, and Sissinghurst, see plates 22, 1 t too, of the [6th century have quite a Gothic erally arched, with carving in the spandrels, and and stoj . \< Pattenden and Smugley Farms, lining, the original doors and framing remain, and they arc of strong and serviceable carpentry, as trated in plates 1,6,7, IO > 16 and 26. These doors were made of plain up- right boards, moulded on the face, rebated over each other and spiked to cross braces behind, no framing or tenoning beino- used at all. Latterly we find the doors framed with styles and rails, many of them richly moulded and studded with nails, and often with rk in the upper portions. An example from ■ Wickhambreaux is illustrated in fig. 9. he- houses, one or more of the ground floor rooms imed ceilings, very finely moulded with deeply cut p, but as time went on this very delightful out, and square or simply moulded beams and I .'. .it Canterbury. IN KENT AND SUSSEX. The whole framing of the houses underwent a change; the rich luxuriance ceased and a plainer treatment prevailed altogether. The timbers were placed further apart and curved braces were inserted, with larger plaster panels, see examples on plates 27 to 33; much of the elaborate overhanging was given up, being carried out only at the sides or ends of the houses, the troublesome arrangement of the angle post and diagonal beam being avoided, see plates 34 and 2S- There is a very good instance of this latter type of half timber work at Grove End Farm, near Tun- stall, and at the Well House, near Northiam, Sussex, illus- trated on plate 36. When gables were used, the builders had an additional opportunitv tor the display of their ingenuity, for not con- tent with rilling the spaces with timbering of varied patterns, the whole gable was in most cases brought forward beyond the face of the wall below, on carved and moulded brackets (see figs. 10 and 1 1). Many beautiful examples can be seen at Canterbury and Rochester, and at Sedles- combe, Mayfield and Beckley in this district as shown on plates 37 to 40. The barge boards to these gables came in tor their share ot attention, and many even now remain. At first the)- were merely Fig. 9.— Doorway at Post Office, Wickhambreaux. ITAGES WH FARMHOUSES foliated at the edges, until in the 1 6th lamented with perforated tracery with carving wn on plates 14, 23, 24, 36, 37, 38 and >f style in the Jacobean period, they were ■ 1 sunk arabesque work or shaped to a fanciful ; a, rv. oir . though sometimes th ornaments in and tongue Fig. 11.— Bracket at Canterbury. they were richly the form of dentils, enrichments applied Some termi- Fig. 12. Barge Board nated in pendants >« %' I2 ) "canter^ or were housed into • the ridge. They were generally kept jht or ten inches from the face of the gable, but in entury we find them placed close against the wall, behind, and numerous instances can be seen and other places, chiefly on the plaster-fronted ho. IX KENT AND SUSSEX. Many of these barge boards can be seen throughout the district, but perhaps the Gothic ones at Wingham and the Jacobean oiks at Fig. 13. — A Barge Board, Canterbury. Canterbury and Steyning, see figs. 13 and 14, arc amongst the most characteristic, together with those at Sedlescombc, Mayfield and Beckley. In these districts of Sussex and Kent we are now speaking of, chim- neys are a very special feature, and quite one of the most important elements in the external effect of a great many of the houses. The liberal use of materials in their construction, the simple yet bold way in which they rise from the roofs, or spring in rich clustering shafts from the sides or gable ends, is always an attractive feature in these cottages, and one that greatly enhances their beauty. The variety of plan adopted is almost endless, and the utmost ingenuity seems to have been exerted in their arrangement, ITAGES AND FARMHOUSES / rot* %. A f 16 '4V ind 4: ■ They are pi. iced generally at either end . t they rise in a mass from the centre of the oof • X old builders disliked, too much uniformity, . en the latter plan is adopted, various projections and ird, many without apparent reason, except the love The stacks at Easebourne and at Byworth, springing from the ridges, of which illustrations are given on plates 43, 44, 45 and 46, together with those at Hawk- hurst, Ticehurst, Beckley and Mayfield, though all similar in detail, are very unlike in plan, while at Wadhurst and Tenterden are some particu- larly eccentric in their arrange- ment. (See fig. 15.) When springing out of the roof, the chimneys are lofty, and rise sheer up with- r bases, beyond one or two plain projecting courses ch face; the roof tiles are weathered up to the base of the no lead is used at all, but the detail of the oversailino- the general arrangement of the caps is almost identical hem, showing how the tradition was handed on from louse. See figs. [6 and 17. of Sussex and Kent where stone was freely v <»f the cottages are built of it, but here, as in other 1 oul, the builders were confronted with the difficulty up the stacks above the roof-line in stone. The nature £et& I 13 I 14 14 of Chimney IX KENT AND SUSSEX. '7 of the stone was such that it did not lend itself to the customary separate shafts, formed of thin slabs, set on edge one over the other, like the Northamptonshire C and Yorkshire chimneys, and L to take them up in ordinary C Ca P it- iji stone walling would nave made them altogether too cumbrous and bulky, so that before leaving the roof, the stone was abandoned and brick unreservedly used as a substitute. Hence it is that we so frequently see in this ♦ 18 * 26 - 18 * Fig. l6. — Chimney Stack, Udimore, Sussex. part of England the pleasing com- bination of the base of the stack, which generally projects from the face of the wall, being built of stone, and the shafts above the sloping set-offs, where it diminishes, being in red brick. In the country around Pul- borough and Petworth, a district of stone, there are many beautiful exam- ples of this treatment, the lower portion sometimes forming a large ingle recess lighted by small windows. The sloping sides of the roof are tiled and finished on Fig. 17. Chimney, Kilndown. ITAGES AND FARMHOUSES • S of brick crow-steps, and the stack is then ■ iched shafts or in a clustered group, r examples are found at Tillington, and Bean I tworth, and one at Penshurst, illustrated on plates 47, v. lich the shafts are separate and placed diagon- made ih bricks in width, a proportion that is I, and one that always gives satisfactory results. the house at Lamberhurst (plate 5 1) and at Wadhurst, there fine chimneys with detached octagonal shafts, and in nun other parts of the county interesting examples are to be igh the most usual treatment is the simple central stack, . ling courses as a cap. In the district round Robertsbridge particularly, there are • ps to the chimneys, a sort of cylindrical brick cap, >ver, tapered in shape, and forming a kind of rude chimney se were evidently built at the same time as the stacks. In the house near Sedlescombe, dated 1604 (plate 52), the chimney stack at the gable end is finished with a richly moulded base and shaft f -r- ' J ^ - e ' above, formed of one square set diagonally over the other in plan, a common arrangement in many other parts of England about this period, and one that is repeated again in the chimneys of Brook House, near Crowborough. At Chels- field and Tunstall Manor are some elaborate ks [see fig. 1 8) with panels sunk and filled with plaster; a somewhat similar treatment, but all in brick, being found in the very bold central :himney at Swiggshole Farm, near Horsmonden, illustrated on plates 53 and 54. 14 ♦ 9- 14 ♦ : '--1 IX KENT AND SUSSEX. ,,, The ingenious way in which these chimneys were managed invariably excites a feeling of admiration, for simple as they are, built of plain unmoulded bricks, the old builders always obtained satisfactory results, and a breadth and sense of proportion sadly lacking in cottage chimneys of the present day. In these old cottage buildings, as we noticed before, the r is one of the principal features in the construction, sheltering the whole house and conveying at once a kindly feeling of homeliness. It is always bold in outline, simple in plan and picturesque in grouping and arrangement, and there is no doubt that these Kent and Sussex houses owe a great deal of their charm to the fact that the roofs are so unbroken in their surface and treatment. If we except an occasional dormer looking somewhat out of place, the roofs consist of simple spans, and in the earlier houses, uninterrupted by gables or projections, but carried through from <^nd to end and hipped from all corners. Typical examples of this treat- ment of the roof can be noticed in the illustrations from Tenterden, Chiddingly, Sissinghurst, Pattenden, and many others. See plates i, 3, 4, 6, io, 12, 1 6, 25 and 30. Sometimes when the chimney stacks are at each end, the roof is carried through and finished with gables, as in the case of the houses at Lamberhurst and Sedlescombe, shown on plates 52 and 53. In the tiled and thatched roofs, hips are more frequently met with than gables, and hardly a roof seems complete without them, though where stonewalling and mullioned windows are used, gables are more noticeable, as, indeed, is the case elsewhere in England. The old red tiles that we find on the roofs of the cottages and buildings are thicker and more unevenly burnt than our modern ones of to-day. The holes for the pegs or rails are not so accurately placed, and the general effect of the irregularity of the OLD CO! fAGES AND FARMIIOTSES surface, produces a softness and delicate • • very pleasing. I of surface can be seen in many of the ill u stra- it more particularly in the house at Swaylands, near in the cottages at Goudhurst (plates 55 and 56) centuated and characteristic treatment of the d. I plain Half round ridge tile is the invariable rule, one, jht well be followed to-day, for perhaps no simpler y finish to a tiled roof has yet been found. A picturesque feature, though a small one, of the roofs are the at the juncture of the hips. When the gables are cut ped (a very favourite treatment in this district), the hip are tenoned into the nearest common ratters at a lower level . and the small triangular space is then either hung plastered (see plates 56, 57 and 58). • ler teat ure in the roofs is the pleasant way in which the e cropped or hipped gables project some little distance in 1 the other tiling, giving a strong line of shade — an instance istrated at Limden Farm, near Ticehurst, on plate 44, and it • ced in Wadhurst and many other houses through- • ' trict I • hed roofs are frequently met with, and here the hip treat- S even more prevalent than with the tiled ones. At Amberley, h, Burwash (plates 59 to 65), and various other places, there imples, in many of which the roofs are continued -r the low wings at either end of the cottages. ►ubt that these old cottages gather a great deal fiarm and simple picturesqueness from the fact that the ibroken in their surface and treatment, and though the IX KENT AND SUSSEX. j. little use to which the space inside was devoted, and the apparent wastefulness of their construction, would appall the modern builder, yet it is this same evident disregard of economy that makes them so effective. Quite apart from anything else, a roof of high pitch unbroken or cut up, has a value, and gives a character to the build- ing it covers which is distinctly pleasing. Many of the Sussex houses in the stone districts are covered with the Horsham stone slates, thick and heavy, and somewhat incongruous amongst the red tiling, some examples being found on plates 3, 66, 6j and 68. The slates are very large at the eaves and diminish in the usual manner to the ridge, but they lack the finish and texture of the small Cotswold stone slates, and are more nearly allied to the heavy roofs of Lancashire and Yorkshire. We notice that directly these slates are used, the pitch of the roof is flattened, for these old builders, so sound in their practical knowledge, at once recognised the impossibility of covering with heavy stone slates steeply sloping sides, where all the drag and strain would be on the pegs and laths, and to this can doubtless be attributed the reason of our constantly finding these roofs cemented and stopped with mortar, for their flat pitch has the disadvantage of not always keeping the wet out, without extraneous aid. In many parts of Sussex, and particularly in the neighbour- hood around Petworth, a group of houses is to be met with in which an admixture of stone, locally quarried, is used with brick. Examples will be found on plates 69-72. The mullions, doorways, and general walling are of stone, with the label mouldings, strings and arches in brick, and though hardly the treatment one is accustomed to see, it has a local character and individuality that is very pleasing. In Kent there are also many instances ot flint and brick buildings, the post office at Wickham being perhaps one ot the I ^1 I JJ. rAGES AND FARMHOUSES roof, with crow-stepped gables and chimneys iled projections on the sides, in one of entrance porch. The walls are of flint and square th the gables and chimneys in brick, a delightful composition, both in design and and "4). plaster w.is the more general rilling between the tim- ' the houses, yet brick is occasionally used, and there are • be seen, one of which at Orpington is shown on , where the bricks are placed herring-bone fashion. In the flint and chalk districts of West Sussex we find the former material adopted (plate 77), while stone is used in other parts of the county, in fact it is this invariable use of the local material at hand that makes these houses so human and so interesting. When speaking of roofs and walls, we naturally come to con- k! very frequently seen, namely, the hanging tiles, he most striking characteristic of the cottages and buildings part of Kent and Sussex. Hardly a house is to 1 which it is not used— in some the upper storey only is •hers the gable,, and in others again almost the entire ■'•■•' to the ground, and various examples will be found on This treatment is, of course, too well known to I description, but one or two points in connection K be emphasized. previously, many of the tiled houses are the old Office, nbreaux. IN KENT AND SUSSEX. timber-framed ones, their general outline and arrangement being often visible under their new veneer; but in the iKth century, the method of tile hanging was adopted very freely, and much of the new building was treated in this pleasant manner. As a rule the tiles used for hanging on the walls were flatter and thinner than those on the roofs, owing probably to the pro- cess of selection, and they were bedded solid in mortar, making an absolutely waterproof wall. They finished close up against the window frames, with no mouldings or finishings of any kind, two or three courses being tilted out slightly over the window heads and at the bottom of the vertical hanging, which in nearly every case is brought down to the top of the ground-floor windows. In much of the work the tiles merely butted against wooden angle fillets, though in some cases those purposely made for angles are used. The close adherence to these few ways of using the tiles, makes the houses of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex so attractive. There is always a compactness and trimness about them, that shows how thoroughly the builders understood the purpose of the tile hanging as a protection against the inclemency of the weather, and how by confining themselves to using it in a legitimate manner, they obtained such satisfactory and picturesque results. We notice that as soon as they began to indulge in the use of fish-tailed or fancy tiling the general effect became somewhat marred, and though perhaps a few interspersed here and there in occasional bands may not be detrimental, yet when entire houses are covered, the feeling of repose is certainly missing. The old house at Robertsbridge, shown on plate II, is an instance in point. There is so much of this delightful tile work all through the district, that no one particular village can be singled out for special notice, but in Goudhurst, quaintly perched on the crest of a hill, are I ITAGES WH FARMHOUSES examples, several with the tiling brought down . [; and in Wadhurst a group of old gabled houses surrounding the churchyard are particularly pleasing and picturesque. These notes would be incom- plete without reference to the quiet plaster fronted houses which abound in both counties, and in Kent in particular. ^^ ^- ^rjgy These, though somewhat later in date than the timber framed ones, are interesting and suo^estive of what might be done to-day, it" only our modern building bye-laws were not prohibitive. Canterbury contains a great deal of this type of building, its chief character- istic being the projecting of each successive storey beyond the one below, carried forward on moulded and carved corbels. Country villages, too, abound with this simple yet effective work, and the contrast of the yellow- white plaster and the tile roofs is very charming. Many of the houses are the old timber ones covered with a plaster skin, and these as in the case of the cottages at Horsmonden, shown on plate 85, are easily distinguishable, but are original in their construction, and were be finished in any other material than plaster, • bury. IX KENT AND SUSSEX. 25 as in the case of the houses at Mid hurst, shown on plates 86 and 87. The streets of Canterbury contain a typical series ot plaster- fronted houses, all with gables facing the roadway, with richly moulded facias and barge boards, ornamented with pendants and ter- minals. The oriel windows under overhanging storeys are a common Fig. 21. — Plaster-fronted House at Canterbury. feature, sometimes carried on brackets, as in the house in North Lane, on plate 88, or occasionally swung out at the level of the floor, with the facia running across the full width of the house, as at the well- known Fallstaff Inn, and the houses opposite, in St. Dunstan's Street, shown in plates 89 and 90. The excellent joinery ot the windows and woodwork generally is well worthy of notice. (See fig. : 1.) D i I I OTAGES AND FARMHOUSES I urded ho must not be overlooked, for these ■ the district and are treated in a thoroughly . . th due appreciation of the material. The inches wide as a rule, butts against upright *les, as in the case of much of the weather tiling, but and continuous around the whole building, as at II twkhui e plates 9] and 92.) When quietly treated, as at 11 . Mayfield, Cockshott, and in the picturesque old mill n, it is peculiarly effective, the material being generally a pale stone colour. Examples are given on plates 93, As mentioned previously, owing to the shrinkage imber, etc., many of the old framed houses were covered :• boarding, and elm was often used for this purpose, :_ - left following the line of the trees growth, and when ' le weather it bleached to silvery grays and russets. 1 ' 3 inghurst, on plate 97, which is one of early date, •i boarding of this kind. Frequently, also, the boarding was tarred, making a very t with the red roofs and walls. ' • iwns and villages in this corner of England contain rent in many ways from the inland ones we have been of, and bear evidences of the influence of foreign inter- exchange of ideas. The gabled houses of the towns - the N.E. coast of Kent show Dutch feeling and being gi VC n from Canterbury and Wingham, md the brick and flint work is a study in itself, lifferent school of thought from that of the East there is much excellent brick work of the 18th n and moulded, and in Deal there is a beautiful IN KENT AND SUSSEX. 27 series of wooden windows and delicately moulded shop fronts, which are unique in their way and excellent examples of joinery. The bay windows of these seaside towns are a feature in themseh carried up as they often are from the ground to the tops of the houses, sometimes tour and five storeys high, and three- sided, or, as in Brighton and other of the south coast towns, semi-circular on plan, built of small squared flints, which Fig. - -Gable over Entrance to Maynard's m latcr Y ears have been COatal Spital, Canterbury. w \fa tar- The two counties of j^ Kent and Sussex contain so many and such admirable examples of simple building, from the early timber framed houses to the later 1 8 th century brick ones, that their careful study would amply repay the lover of homely English archi- tecture, and though it is beyond the scope of these few notes to deal with their characteristics 1 -i 1 1 Fi<* VK -Gable at Wingham, Kent. in detail, yet perhaps enougn has been said to arouse a deeper interest in a subject that has not received as much appreciation as it merits, and to help in the study of the following beautiful series of plates which show examples of well- nigh every type, and cannot fail to give point to these remarks. OLD rAGES AND FARMHOUSES n, is it out of place to raise a plea on behalf [UCnt though silent witnesses to the craftsmanship of . and to urge that those who have the care or • sand farmhouses should treat them with a tender regard. Unfortunately, many are being I the dwellings of our forefathers, so closely inter- file life and history of the country, and possessing such Ay human interest, are being rapidly destroyed, in many -..ike w.iv for what can only be regarded as but doubtful Go where we will amongst these old villages and ind contemplate any old building, untouched by the r" the "restorer," and it is impossible not to be impressed by ubtle charm : the mullioned windows and latticed . the tiled roots a kaleidoscope of varied colours, the vener- . ills covered with lichens, the absence of any meretricious or n rnament, and the wonderful feeling of homeliness that les every feature, all combine to produce the very essence of i beautiful architecture. I not suggest that merely for the sake of their antiquity or teness unhealthy or insanitary houses should be retained; but 1 do most strongly urge, that where it is possible to save them, ould hesitate before breaking any of the few remaining links villages and country towns of to-day with the interests of the past. . Dl t- _ z z _ _ II 1 • Q. — K. - 00 x _ ZZ — ■JL < - — _ - _ - ROBER mh AT TENTt K'DI N, K. X — / > "THE MIDDLE HOUSE," M AVI III I IN V. 0. 1 - AT TENTERDFN, Ki AT AT F1TTLEW0RTH, \VI AT PETWORTH, AT SEDLESl • mm n * - — _ — STUDIO OF MR. F. 0. I AT PULBOROUGH, WEST SUSSEX. - K. ~ \ I AT RYWORTM, NEAR PETWORTH, "5 a. IN THE CHURCHYAI -i < : ; .r_i -*»W :=-■ — _ J p » *^~ 1 ~7J^^^^^^Bfl^^^B( 1 X < - < p. Ife yfr\ ■ ■ t- ■ * "V* mfl&m ■frv- AT TILLINOTON, NfAK PI fWORTH WEST BEAN LODOI, NEW OROVI LAI R PETWORTH AT I'll ,11, \VI -*' AT I'l NSHURSl kl NT.- DATI \ I MINSTI R, Kl M AT OOUDHURST, k — X - — - - . I.A.J. s 1 — •2 Q. 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