| Doreward’s Hall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Farmhouse |
| Location | In Bocking, Essex |
| Coordinates | 51°53′59″N 0°33′38″E / 51.89972°N 0.56056°E |
| Built | Rebuilt in 1579, may be older |
| Built for | The Dorewards |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Designated | 1951 |
| Reference no. | 1170740 |
  Location of Doreward’s Hall in Essex | |
Doreward's Hall is a partly brick and partly timber-framed and plastered house[1] in Bocking, Essex. The house is said to have been rebuilt by Edward Thursby in 1579, but may be of earlier date; the date, 1572, on the southwest end of the West wing is said not to be original. It has been modified a number of times since then.[2][3] It was designated a Grade II* Listed Building in 1951.[4]
Description
Doreward's Hall, about 700 yards south-southeast of the church, is of two storeys; the walls are partly of brick and partly of plastered timberframing; the roofs are tiled. The house is said to have been rebuilt by Edward Thursby in 1579, but may be of earlier date; the date, 1572, on the southwest end of the West wing is said not to be original; the West wing was probably the North wing of Thursby's house, and is the only part of it which remains. Early in the 17th century an addition was made on the east side, and there are 18th-century or modern additions at the east end and on the north side of the original wing. The plan is now of very irregular form.[2][3]
The southwest end of the original wing is an interesting example of 16th-century work, and, inside the house, an early 17th-century overmantel is noteworthy.[2][3]
The southwest end of the original wing is built of brick with plastered dressings, and has, at the angles, octagonal buttresses terminating in pinnacles above the parapet; the storeys are divided by moulded string-courses, and the plinth and coping of the gable are also moulded; on the ground floor is an original square-headed window of three transomed lights, surmounted by a moulded pediment, which has the date 1572 in the plastered tympanum; on the first floor is a similar window of five lights, with a defaced inscription in the tympanum; in the gable is a three-light transomed window with a moulded label; it is now blocked. The original central chimney-stack of the 16th-century wing has three octagonal shafts on a rectangular base with a moulded capping. At the west end of the 17th-century wing is a contemporary chimney-stack with attached shafts, divided by sunk panels.[2][3]
Interior—Several rooms have stop-chamfered ceiling-beams and exposed joists. On the ground-floor, in the original wing, the southwest room has a wall covered with early 17th-century panelling, and the window has old iron casement-fasteners; some similar panelling has been re-used on the staircase.[2][3]
In the 18th-century wing the ceiling-beams are probably re-used material of earlier date, as are two brackets, each carved only on one side. In the 17th-century wing the kitchen has a wide fireplace with a moulded lintel which has carved stops. On the first floor, in the original wing, the northeast room has one wall covered with early 17th-century panelling, and the overmantel of the same date has three arched panels divided by fluted pilasters; the frieze is also panelled, and in the middle panel is an inlaid shield of Thursby of six quarters; one of the doors is original and both the doors have old cock's-head hinges. In the 17th-century wing the room over the kitchen has a wall covered with contemporary panelling, re-used and painted.[2][3]
In 1916 its condition was good, the plaster defective.[2][3]
History
The House dates from 1579 or earlier.[2]
The building was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 October 1951.[4]
Current usage
It is today a farmhouse divided into two homes, with farm buildings and 210 acres of farmland.[5]
See also
References
- ^ Hayes, Holly. "Doreward's Hall (Braintree, England)". Go Historic. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Bocking". An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West. British History Online. 1916. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c d e f g Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (1916). "An inventory of the historical monuments in Essex". His Majesty's Stationery Office, London. pp. 34–35. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b "DOREWARD'S HALL, Non Civil Parish - 1170740 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
- ^ "Braintree: Residents want to buy farm". Braintree and Witham Times. Retrieved 2021-12-09.