Wood and stone
Heading towards the church in Fownhope, I was distracted by this interesting house. I’m attracted by Herefordshire timber-framed houses and this is a substantial one, probably of the 16th or 17th century, with later additions. As is often the way, there are stone chimneys stacks at the end, and these have been extended in brick, probably in the 19th century. It all adds up to a satisfying mix of materials, even if the brick is a bit harsh and industrial in appearance compared with the rest of the building
After admiring the timber frame and the stone stacks I was struck by the low stone structure between them. What is this? A large inglenook? Bread ovens? I don’t recall noticing this type of structure before. No doubt now I’ve noticed it, I’ll be seeing them everywhere.
3 comments:
It's too low to be a room. Maybe some kind of storage - a larder or coal-hole?
I wonder if you know Queen Elizabeth's Hunting Lodge on Chingford Plain? I've just returned from a walk around there and Epping Forest. It's a remarkable Tudor Building from 1543.
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You may notice that it rains a lot in Herefordshire; this could have been used for drying laundry indoors? Bread ovens presumably would have had extra chimneys. Not a priest hole - far too prominent, though no doubt cosy in season.
Beautiful building. As for the added on bit, I'm going to guess at a storage space for logs. I don't think it would be a larder because fresh food had to be kept cool, but there's a tudor cottage near to where I live in which there are both bread ovens and a log storage cupboard next to the fireplace. The storage doesn't jut out into the exterior though.
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