Boote House (EHER 37046)

Late 16th century timber-framed house recorded in 2018.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Boote's House, Grade II*. Now three tenements, at the corner of the Dunmow and Chelmsford Roads. It is timber-framed and plastered with tiled roofs and of two storeys. It was built about 1596, and extended to the east in the 17th century with later alterations to the main block and south wing. <1> <2> Boote House. House dating to about 1596. It is the corner house with the frontage to Chelmsford Road and return to Braintree Road. RCHM 15. Grade II*. <3> 2018. Building survey. The building's first phases involve the Hall House in the early 15th century. The original Hall roof has been completely lost and the roof of the cross-wing remodelled when the attic rooms were added. In the early to middle 16th century the Hall House a new floor was inserted over the hall to improve the accommodation and to provide private rooms. Boote house has its construction date, 1596, carved on the bressummer and the form, style and carpentry all concur with this date. It was not possible to determine when Boote’s House was connected to Hall House; the main problem being the removal of the fabric to install the modern staircase in the 1968 works and the subsequent covering of the ceilings. There are no obvious original doorways to connect the buildings at the time of construction in 1596 The house was built as a long walled jettied house carrying the jetty around the corner as a display house for the carpenter’s work. There is evidence for a mullioned windows looking along the main road. The cellar is built of period bricks and would have been dug before the building was put up. Internally the frame indicates that the northern bay is not part of the original design. Originally the staircase went up from the ground floor in the same position as the current attic staircase but it has been removed and the upper staircase rebuilt completely. In the late 18th century the building was the subject of Georgian modernisation. It is certain that Boote House and Hall House were joined together by this time and the vernacular frame was concealed in lath and plaster. Most of the studs and joists are peppered with nails or striped with lime plaster. It was common in the this era of Georgian fashion to install rooms in the roofs for servant’s or children and it can be seen the attic rooms of the Hall House and Boote House were adapted for habitation rather than storage. Boote House has a staircase to the attic floor which was made from reused 16th to 17th century panelling. <4> See also: <5> - <7>