Possible 16th century house, Falcon House, 32 High Street (EHER 82670)

Falcon House may have 16th century origins with 18th, 19th, and 20th century additions and alterations; there is a 20th century shopfront at the ground floor. The frame of the building has been much replaced with 19th century machine-sawn softwood. The building is of timber-frame construction with external render. The front two bay range is of two storeys with a tile roof covering. The rear range has two storeys with an attic and cellar, beneath a tile covered roof . There are two 19th century end stacks to the south. The north is a narrow mid 19th century two storey extension. Inside all of the wall frames, floor frames and roof structure is 19th and 20th century and there are no remaining fireplaces or other fixtures and fittings. Falcon House was assessed for listing in 2007 but failed to meet the required criteria.

NRHE data transfer: July 2007. Listing consideration. Kelvedon is a small historic town with Roman origins, straddling the main Roman road from London to Colchester. There is a wealth of designated buildings in the historic core of the settlement, many of which have medieval origins. It is said that there is an interesting culvert in the cellar of Falcon House which may have been part of the medieval sewer leading to the river. The oldest part of the building appears to be the front range, which may be 16th or 17th century, with an early to mid 19th century front and parapet added to it. To the rear is a probable 18th century range. There have been 19th and 20th century additions to the south, some of which have been demolished. The frame of the building has been much replaced with 19th century machine-sawn softwood; this is particularly apparent in the former 18th century range, where the roof, wall and floor frames have been largely replaced. Falcon House is a dwelling with a former shopfront at the ground floor, of 16th and 18th century date, with 19th and 20th century remodelling and alteration. The building is of timber-frame construction with external render. The two bay front range has two storeys under a tile-covered half-hipped roof, with mid 19th century parapet to the front. The rear range has two storeys with an attic and cellar, beneath a tile-covered mansard roof. There are two 19th century end stacks to the south. The façade has a 20th century shop front at ground floor and large opening at first, the window having been removed. To the left (north) is a narrow mid 19th century two storey extension with a recessed porch at ground floor housing a 20th century entrance door. The south elevation has two single storey 19th century outshots with pent and gable roofs. The rear elevation of the 18th century range has a large opening at first floor where a tri-partite sash window has been removed and a French-window opening at ground floor. There is a small projecting timber bay at attic height with 19th century tri-partite sashes. The north elevation is obscured. In the rear 18th century range, most of the framing is 19th century and later, softwood of meagre scantling and nailed in place. The cellar has been rendered with cement and has, to the north of the main room, a small passage with curved roof. The floor level at ground floor appears to have been raised recently. All of the wall frames, floor frames and roof structure is 19th and 20th century, the latter comprising a ridge piece with rafters and collars. The front range has been reworked in a piecemeal fashion. The front wall frame at both ground and first floor has been replaced with brick, although one partly rotted wall post remains. The rear half of the first floor frame comprises 20th century beams and joists, but there are probable 16th century unchamfered principal timbers to the front, some of which have been removed. At ground floor, the south wall appears to have been encased with 19th century brick and the north wall frame has been opened up, with only two wall posts remaining. The wall of the mid 19th century extension to the north comprises thin timber studs with infill panels of bricks laid on edge, abutting the rear section comprising timber studs with external weatherboard cladding. The stairs to the first floor have been removed. On the first floor of the front range, the mid rails, two tie beams, some sections of wall plate and a few wall posts could be 16th century in date, but the wall frames and remaining cross frames are 19th century and of poor quality. The roof comprises a ridge piece and rafters, a few of the latter possibly of 16th century date, but the ridge, all the collars, many of the rafters and the purlin in the front hip are all late 19th or 20th century. The 19th century extension to the north has a completely replaced roof structure. There are no remaining fireplaces or other fixtures and fittings. Falcon House has been recently stripped internally and regrettably, it is probable that historic fabric has been lost. However, there has been much 19th and 20th century remodelling to the building; the 16th century build is fragmentary and the 18th century range is no longer sufficiently intact. Although the building has local interest, the extent of recent and historic alteration and reworking has diminished its architectural quality in the national context and the building does not fulfil the listing criteria. Falcon House is not recommended for designation for the following principal reasons: * A significant proportion of the 16th century timber frame has been lost with much of the surviving framing comprising low grade materials of the 19th and 20th century. * The 16th century structure is a fragmentary survival of a larger building of unknown form. * The timber frame of the 18th century range to the rear has been substantially replaced in the 19th and 20th centuries and is therefore no longer sufficiently intact. <1>