Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1280 to 1699. Newberry or Newbury Farmhouse. The remains of one of the earilest timber-framed aisled hall houses in the country, dated by dendronology to 1187 - 1207 AD, survives within Newbury Farm. A substantial two storey stone cross-wing was added to the sout-west end of the hall in the late 13th or early 14th century. Numerous altertation to both the corss-wing and the hall have occured with considerable modernisation undertaken during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when the hal was floored and a substantial chimney built. Further modernisation took place in the nineteenth century when the earlier timber-framed elevations of the property were replaced with brick facades.

Monument Types

• HOUSE (Medieval to Modern - 1280 AD to 2050 AD)

Full description

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The following text is from the original listed building designation:
List entry Description

Summary of Building

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details..

Reasons for Designation

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details..

History

Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details..

Details

This List entry was subject to a Minor Amendment on 21/11/2017

TQ 95 NW, 4/181

TONGE, DULLY ROAD (east side), Newbury Farm House North

(Formerly Listed as: Newberry Farmhouse; previously listed as Newbury Farm)

24.01.67

II*

Hall house. now house. Circa 1300 and C17. Stone solar wing to timber-framed range, clad with red brick and rendered, with plain tiled roof. Aisled hall range of three bays with projecting stone cross wing. South front: two storeys and hipped roof with stack projecting end left. Three glazing bar sashes on first floor and four wood casements on ground floor with boarded door to centre right with flat hood. Rear range: two storeys and hipped roof with stacks to end left and centre right and one gabled dormer. Three wood casements on each floor and boarded door centre left. INTERIOR: the rear wing originally an aisled hall of two bays of C1300 with partial survival of two octagonal arcade with broach stops, with coupled rafter roof with passing braces through collar to arcade posts. Solar wing of flint and freestone dressings. Originally with an undercroft. with jambs of external door on first floor to east. (See R.C.H.M. Report. August 1982).

Listing NGR: TQ9279859946 . (9)


Description from record TQ 95 NW 16:
[TQ 9280 5994] Newbury [NAT] (1)

Newbury Farmhouse (formerly listed as Newbury Farm), Grade II*, Dully Road (east side). Hall house, now house. Circa 1300 and 17th century. (2)

The aisled hall house at Newbury is one of only nine timber-framed buildings in the country that have so far been dated to before 1230. Although on the small size it seems likely that the building was of manorial status. All that survived now of the late 12th-early 13th century hall house are fragments of its two bay open hall. The hall measures approximately 9.32m by 5.13. and was fully timber-framed and aligned north-south. The tops of its arcade-plates sit apporximately 5.6 m above exsisting ground level. Evidence for both an east and west aisle can be seen together with evidence for a missing inline north end bay. It is likely that the later stone cross-wing replaced an in-line south bay.

An important feature of the carpentry at Newbury is the exclusive use of mortice and tenon joints within the timber-frame. No lap joints are present on any of the primary timbers (other than those employed in the roof truss).

ROOF STRUCTURE

An original roof truss has survived virtually intact above the central tie-beam of the hall, this is despite a complete rebuild of the roof in the 19th century. The truss comprises a pair of rafters, two passing braces, two ashlar pieces and a collar. Interestingly the principal rafters of the truss pass behind the outside edges of the arcade plates and are uniquely held onto the ends of the tie beams by tenons. The extant 19th century roof, which is clad in traditional peg tiles, was fully exposed during the works but no further 12th century roof timbers were found reused in its fabric. It is not known how the original roof was covered, but wooden shingles are a possibility.

MISSING NORTHERN IN-LINE BAY

Evdience revealed on the north face of the north end truss confirmed beyond doubt that an in-line bay once lay beyond the north end of the hall and that this was an integral part of the structure. It is unlikley, given the evidence found, that the missing bay had any form of first floor.

EAST ARCADE

A scarf uncovered in the northern bay of the hall during the survey revealed that the east arcade-plate comprises two sections. The scarf is stop-splayed and tabled form with undersquinted abutments. Two intact arcade-braces and a third incomplete brace survive beneath the two sections of the arcade-plate.

WEST ARCADE

Two sections of arcade-plate were also revealed along the west side of the hall during the survey. Unfortuantely these are the only timbers of the arcade that have survived here, the arcade-braces were removed in the 19th century by the brick facade that now underpins this side of the building.

OPEN HEARTH

The 19th century sprung floor within the wall was lifted and an watching brief maintained on the cuting of a foundation trench for a new wall. The exposed subsoil was found to have a patch of pink scorching approximately 2 x 2m caused by heat penetration from an open hearth. A succession of small hearths would probably account for the large area of scorching. The subsoil was most heavily scorched at its centre, a point roughly within the middle of the former open hall; and not offset as is often the case. As a result is was not possible to provide any clues as to which end of the aisled-hall house was which.

THE MEDIEVAL CROSS WING

A two storey stone cross-wing lies to the south of the hall. It has been suggestred that this was built to replace a single storey in-line end bay. The new wing ia aligned east-west and measures approximately 12.29 m by 5.61m. Its walls stand presently to a height of 5.7m and comprise a mixture of knapped and unknapped flints, warter rounded flints and numerous fragments of reused Roman tile (presumably from the nearby villa site TQ 95 NW 23). The material is roughly coursed and laid in a soft buff lime mortar with large chalky and pebbl inclusions. No evidence for internal masonary cross walls was seen during the survey. However, the range is certainly of sufficient size to have accommodated more than one room on each floor. If divisions were present thse must have been timber-framed. An upper chamber or solar was perhaps located on the first floor..

Amongst the details revealed internally were the splayed openings of several medieval windows. None of the external surrounds of these windows have survived in situ but stone fragemtns were recovered from the collapsed section of the south wall during works. One of these was an intact Ragstone window cill or window head. The windows on the upper floor appear to have been taller than those on the ground floor. The positions of several medieval doorways had been observed within the cross-wing during previous surveys. During the current survey two new openings were also discovered. The doors in the rear wall of the cross-wing lead through into the hall and associated structures to the north.

Since the wing was built it has been considerably modified. An extensive campaign of moderisation was undertaken in the 16th century including the construction of a brick chimney, improvements to the fenestration of th wing and the raising of the cross-wing floor. This modernisation most likely continued to be made throughout the 17th century as well.

MEDIEVAL WEST OUTSHOT

The missing outshot must have been timber-framed for there is no sign that masonary walls once abutted the rear of the cross-wing. Its original form is not known. It must have provided access to the first floor door in the rear wall of the cross-wing. It seems likely the outshot provided the only point of access to the upper chambers of the wing however it is possible stairs were located in the missing structure to the east.(3)

Additional Information (4, 5 & 6)

Twelve samples were taken. These suggested that the aisled hall phases of the building was constructed no later than the very early 13th century. A later phase of alteration took place, between 1516 and 1520. (7) Original phase dated to 1187-1207; later phase to 1517-1520. (8)

Historic England archive material (10)

Historic England, Archive material associated with Newbury Farmhouse, Listed Building (Archive). SKE54316.

<1> OS 1:10000 1971 (OS Card Reference). SKE48156.

<2> DOE(HHR) Swale Boro Kent 21 Mar 1985 70 (OS Card Reference). SKE41180.

<3> Canterbury Archaeological Trust, 2001, Newbury Farm, Dully Street, Tonge, Kent, An Architectural Survey (Unpublished document). SKE8008.

<4> Pearson, S, 1994, The Medieval Houses of Kent: A Historical Analysis, p 152 (Monograph). SKE8009.

<5> Pearson, S., Barnwell, P. S. & Adams, A. T., 1994, A Gazetteer of Medieval Houses in Kent, page 128 - 129 (Monograph). SKE8010.

<6> Unknown & Pearson, S., 1982 & 1991, Newbury Farmhouse, Tonge (Unpublished document). SKE8011.

<7> English Heritage Ancient Monuments Laboratory, 2000, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers From Newbury Farmhouse, Dully Street, Tonge, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE12405.

<8> Vernacular Architecture Group, ADS Dendrochronology Database, Vol. 32, Pg. 92 (Website). SKE17391.

<9> English Heritage, List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest (Map). SKE16160.

Sources and further reading