Porters Farmhouse (EHER 1000)

A 15th century hall house altered in the 17th century.

Monument description derived from merging EHER 1000 and 37306. Original HER entry merged with NRHE data import: Porters (NAT). <1> The medieval house was altered later. An upper floor was inserted in the hall and other alterations made, probably about 1652. A projecting bay window bears the repainted date 1652. Original hall has an added 17th century gable and there are 17th century windows. <2> The house was altered in the 16th century and is now a farm house. The 16th century features include chimneystacks, stair tower, oriel windows, including a large dormer, and a large oriel in the service wing (reported by RCHM to bear date 1652, but not now visible) which is "complete in all particulars, including a contemporary wrought iron casement with spring latch on decorated plate, a rare survival". Site Assessment = The house "has undergone one series of alterations in the 16th century, culminating in a series of ornamental features of about 1600, which also have survived in remarkably intact condition. It is difficult to reconcile the repainted date 1652 reported by the RCHM with any major phase of this building. The house was reported by the RCHM to be in poor condition about 1920. Since then it has been kept weathertight but with only very minor alterations. It constitutes a valuable source of historical information on two periods of domestic architecture on which the evidence elsewhere is always fragmentary. <3> <4> December 1975. Field survey. 'Porters' is as described above but not outstanding. <5> 2007. Building survey. Porters hall was built during the first half of the 15th century, elaborately improved in the mid 17th century (1652) and has survived with little alteration throughout the 19th and 20th century. The farmhouse is a typical hall house, with a main in-line block of three equal bays comprising a two bay hall and an in-line two storey service bay. The service end has a simple crown post roof with relatively thin longitudinal braces. The roof of the hall is heavily soot blackened. It has superb and rare wattle and daub panels with scratch decoration. The crown post has a cross-quadratecrown base with chamfered braces. The high end has the usual tall hall windows and rebate for shutters. Behind the high end bench is an unusual planked wall cladding with incised decoration. The brick stack was inserted in late 15th to early 16th century. An extra tie beam at the southern end of the hall suggests an earlier in-line high may of existed. The existing high end cross wing is more impressive than the rest of the building. It is gabled to front and rear with a wide jetty overhang to front and a pair of oriel windows. Its short length (compared to its width) may suggest it reused the foundations of an earlier high-end. A stair tower was added in the late 16th century in the usual position. It retains its original newel and finial. A pair of display dormers were added to the roof over the hall in the 17th century. the primary bracing of the northern kitchen range is late in date (19th century). <6> See: <7>