Farmhouse at Chithams Farm (EHER 7509)

The house probably dates from the late 14th or early 15th century. The cross-wing seems to have been constructed with two storeys; the ground floor of the original open hall indicate that a first floor was inserted here in the late 16th or early 17th century. Substantial additions to the building were made in the 19th and 20th centuries. The main alterations to the hall and cross-wing were the subdivision of the interior, and the concealment of timbers behind lathe and plaster. The roof is a replacement of the 19th or 20th century. All windows are 19th century or modern timber mullioned casements. A dovecote to the north of the house retains some early fabric but has been re-clad with weatherboarding and its function is no longer evidence. A Second World War air raid shelter is next to the dovecote.

Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Timber-framed and plastered house, of two storeys, with tiled roofs. Probably built in the 16th century with central block and crosswings, but much altered and extended. Upper storeys of both crosswings originally projected but the southern one has been underbuilt. Inside, one small room has exposed ceiling beams. <1> January 2010. Listing file. Chitham's Farm is an isolated farmstead to the west of the village of Ramsden Heath, consisting of a farmhouse, barn and dovecot (modified for use as a shed). The house, the historic core of which is a timber framed hall and cross-wing, occupies the north-west corner of a moated enclosure, while the barn is immediately to the east, but outside the moat. The moat causeway is positioned off-centre across the east arm to provide a direct link between the main entrances of house and barn, emphasising the significant and probably contemporary relationship between the two. The date of the moat is uncertain, although most date from the 13th or early 14th century. However, the slightly awkward siting of the causeway, and of the house within the rectangular enclosure, suggests that it may have been constructed around the existing buildings. The barn and house can be more closely dated by the detail of their construction. The hall and cross-wing share the same frame, and the hall framing is typically late 14th or early 15th century. The cross-wing seems to have been constructed with two storeys, but stop-chamfered beams to the ground floor of the originally open hall indicate that a first floor was inserted here in the late 16th or 17th century; a chimney stack would have been built at the same time to replace the open hearth. Substantial additions to the building were made in the 19th century, although these may have destroyed or concealed evidence of 17th or 18th century fabric. By the time of the 1874 OS map an additional cross-wing had been added to the south, and a small wing attached to the north elevation. Between 1896 and 1922 the house was further extended by additions to the south and west. The main alterations to the hall and cross-wing were the subdivision of the interior, and the concealment of timbers behind lathe and plaster. There has been some loss of timber framing to the south end of the hall and the roof is a replacement of 19th or 20th century construction. The farmhouse at Chitham's Farm is a largely Victorian house of five bays and two storeys. The medieval hall and cross-wing, the three bays to the north, are of timber frame construction, partially rebuilt and clad in brick, while the south two bays are built of brick. The pitched roofs are tiled. The cross-wing projects slightly to the rear of the hall, and its first floor gable end is jettied to the front. The gable of the 19th century cross wing to the south of the hall range was designed to balance the medieval gable, and to the south of that is the larger half hipped gable end of the early 20th century extension. All windows are 19th century or modern timber mullioned casements The front door and main entrance to the house is at the south end of the east elevation of the hall range; directly opposite is a door to the back of the modern hallway, and this seems to have been the position of the original cross-passage. The frame of a pointed arched doorway can be seen at the north end of the west wall, the arch formed by chamfered braces, but a cross-passage in this position is unlikely as its route would probably have been blocked by a dais, bench and canopy, evidence for which can be seen in the display bracing at the north end of the hall. There are also studs surviving at ground-floor level in the west wall, and fragments of timber framing survive in the east wall, now covered in plaster. The ground floor of the hall range is subdivided into a hall, corridor and living room, the latter with stop chamfered ceiling beams and a modern brick fireplace. The north wall of this room is shared with the cross-wing, and contains wall studs and a substantial post with down braces to either side. The ground-floor ceiling of the two bay cross-wing consists of substantial joists supported by a large unchamfered transverse beam braced to posts on either side. Access to the first floor of the cross-wing is now from a first-floor corridor above the hall, but there is evidence that there was originally a stairwell at the west end of the cross-wing. The small Tudor arched door in the first-floor west wall may have been to a garderobe. The walls at first-floor level contain studs behind which are down braces designed to be seen from both the inside and outside of the hall. Elements of original windows survive at the east end, including grooves for sliding shutters. A substantial, slightly curved tie beam across the centre of the room supports a moulded crown post, and the beam is braced to create a single wide arch spanning the width of the room, the braces chamfered and moulded to jowled posts. The crown post is braced to rafters and the crown plate; this has been truncated, and the roof modified in the C20 by the addition of purlins and struts to either side of the crown post. Most of the original collars and rafters remain. The farmhouse at Chitham's Farm, a medieval hall with cross-wing extended in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is recommended for designation at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Architectural interest: The hall with its cross-wing is an early vernacular building, the fabric of which survives substantially intact. The fine quality of detail is indicative of its status, which is reinforced by the presence of the surrounding moat and the substantial barn to the east. Historic interest: Techniques used in its construction provide significant evidence of local building traditions. Group value: The hall and cross-wing form an important component, with the scheduled moat and barn, of a medieval farmstead. <2>