Exploring Kent's Past

It should not be assumed that this site is publicly accessible and it may be on private property. Do not trespass.

Monument details

Summary

Grade II* listed building. Main construction periods 1250 to 1899

Summary from record TQ 64 SE 14 :

Old Cryals Farmhouse: listed building

Monument Types

• FARMHOUSE (FARMHOUSE, Medieval - 1066 AD to 1539 AD)
• SITE (Medieval to Post Medieval - 1250 AD to 1899 AD)

Full description

If you do not understand anything on this page please contact us.

The following text is from the original listed building designation:
TQ 64 SE BRENCHLEY CRYALS ROAD
6/65 Old Cryals
II*
Farmhouse. Circa early C14 or earlier origins with a circa early C15 addition or remodelling; alterations of the circa late C16. Framed construction, the ground floor partly underbuilt in brick, the first floor tile-hung; peg-tile roof; brick stacks.
Plan and Development: The house faces west. At present it consists of a single-depth main block, unusually deep, 3 rooms wide with a deep outshut at the south end and a rear left wing at right angles. The 2 centre rooms are heated by adjacent axial stacks, the rear wing by an end stack. The core of the house, from the right hand (southern) axial stack as far as the right end outshut is a circa early C14 open hall house of 2 bays; it probably had a passage entrance at the right (south) end. The building may have extended further at either or both ends. It had a scissor-braced roof construction, possibly combined with crown posts. One closed scissor-braced truss remains in situ at the right (south) end. The existing 2 bays were open to the roof timbers from end to end. The next medieval phase was the addition of a 1 1/2 bay block at the north end in the circa early C15. This is storeyed and jettied to the front (west) with a crown post roof construction and is separately framed, at least on the first floor. It provided a ground floor room with a ceiling of intersecting beams. In the circa late C16 a stack was inserted at the north end of the circa early c16 block and the hall was floored. The continuing high status of the building at this date is clear from the quality of the hall chimney-piece. Probably at the same time the early C14 roof was remodelled. The crown posts were removed and the old roof was replaced with a clasped purlin arrangement, re-using the rafter couples of the scissor-braced roof. The rafters were re-set on to new wall plates and re-pegged at the apex. A second stack was inserted, into the north end room, heating both ground and first floor rooms in that block. These alterations probably included a lobby entrance on the west side, which is still the site of the front door. The south end outshut is difficult to date, most of the visible timbers are re-used. The rear left wing is probably C19. The north end block has been divided into 2 rooms on the ground floor, probably in the circa 1930s, when the house was re-windowed and provided with a porch to the lobby entrance.
Exterior: 2 storeys. Asymmetrical 5-window front, the roof gabletted at the left end and gabled at the right end of the main block with a long lean-to roof over the right end outshut. The house is jettied to the front at the left end. Circa 1930s gabled porch to left of centre with an oak door with strap hinges flanked by one-light windows with diamond leaded panes. 5 first floor and 4 ground floor circa 1930s casement windows of 2 and 3 lights with diamond leaded panes. Evidence of a blocked doorway in the brickwork of the front elevation to the right of the main block. This is opposed to a C20 door on the rear elevation and probably marks the site of the medieval cross passage. The rear elevation has C20 casement windows.
Interior: Rich in carpentry from both the medieval and C16 phases. The late C16 hall has a massive ceiling beam on the long axis with bar stops and exposed joists. Spectacular circa late C16 carved oak chimney-piece with an order of twist moulding on the lintel, moulded jambs and twist-moulded spandrels. The north end room, now divided into 2, has an intersecting beam ceiling with step stops and exposed joists of massive scantling. The fireplace has rebuilt jambs and a plain lintel. The wall and crossframes of the medieval phases are well-preserved. The phase one frame has massive wall posts with flared step-stopped jowls and step-stopped ties. The wall posts are not all visible and one, supporting the main hall tie at the front, appears to be a later replacement with a chamfered jowl. The main tie is arch braced, the braces massive and fixed with 8 pegs each, with a roll-moulding in the tie at the apex. It is difficult to distinguish the early C14 and C15 frames on the first floor on a superficial inspection but there appears to have been a symmetrical design of 4 tension braces at what is now first floor level in the left hand (north) early crossframe. The first floor of the jettied end of the house has a blocked fireplace, probably retaining a late C16 or C17 lintel. The tie supporting the north end crown post has short, curved braces to the wall posts. The timbers visible in the south end outshut are mostly re-used and incorporate the lintel or sill of a mullioned window.
Roof: One scissor-braced rafter couple from the circa early C14 phase remains in situ, at the right (south) end of the main block. This was a closed partition and retains some of its original sooted infill although most has been removed and replaced by later infill against the back (south) side of the partition. One of the rafters sits on a pad. Beyond this, to the north, the roof is of late C16 clasped purlin design but re-using the smoke blackened rafters of the scissor-braced roof, the braces removed. There are 18 rafter couples in all, mostly smoke blackened but augmented with presumably late C16 clean rafter couples. The sooted rafters have been re-pegged at the apex, where the halved joints alternate, and have clean pegs. Some have been turned through 90 degrees but all retain the slots for the former scissor braces. The rafters are set into a clean wall plate dating from the C16 phase. The top of the main hall tie retains a slot for a former crown post as does the northern tie, which is north of the inserted stack. The crown post roof over the north end of the house consists of a plain post in the closed partition at the south end of this block. This lath and plaster partition is sooted on the hall side. The plain post has down braces to the tie and had an up brace to the collar purlin on the south side - this was removed when the southern axial stack was inserted. The freestanding crown post over the south end has 4 up braces. The post is cruciform on plan with 4 fillets, one to the centre of each side, carved out of the solid, and a chamfered base with broach stops.
Old Cryals is an outstandingly interesting house of unusually early origins, with at least 2 medieval phases of evolution and a third, high quality C16 phase of modernisation.
Interpretation of the building based on analysis by John R.L. Thorp.
Listing NGR: TQ6613140337

Description from record TQ 64 SE 14 :
(TQ 6617 4032) Old Cyrals (NAT). (1) Farmhouse. Circa early C14 or earlier origins with a circa early C15 addition or remodelling, alterations of the circa late C16. Grade II*. (2)

<1> OS 1:10000 1978 (OS Card Reference). SKE48163.

<2> DOE (HHR) Dustrict of Tunbridge Wells, Kent (Bidborough et al) 24th Aug 1990 69 70 (OS Card Reference). SKE40556.

Sources and further reading