More information : Farmhouse; built as the hall of the Augustinian Priory of St. Leonard and
attached to the north side of the church (see above item). Mid C13 with
alterations of early C14, late C16, c.1770 and mid C19. Timber-framed and
plastered. Hipped plaintiled main roof with axial and end chimneys of C19 red
brick. Main range of 3-cell cross-entry plan. 2 storeys. Mid C19 sashes and
panelled entrance door at cross entry, another doorway at rear of cross-entry
is similar but with iron trelliswork porch. A very rare example of a C13
timber-framed domestic structure, with carpentry of the highest quality. A 2-
bay open hall is at the centre, with an integral storeyed bay at the south
end. At the north end of the hall is a cross-entry; the service cell was
almost or entirely rebuilt c.1770. The hall had (until C16) an aisle on the
west side; the east side was not aisled, but had a structure attached, either
a porch or cloister. In the cross-entry is a composition of 3 service
doorways, and a 4th smaller but more richly carved. The doorways have lap-
jointed equilateral arches, and shafts with moulded capitals; the lower
doorway has in addition a band of dogtooth carving and mutilated foliate
capitals. The closed truss above has two pairs of passing braces one above
the other, and a pair of saltire braces at the centre, with studwork at 1.2m
centres. The open truss of the hall is depleted, but had straight tie-beam
braces and massive clasping passing-braces; the eastern post is unmoulded
(being in an external wall) and the arcade post to the west is missing. The
closed truss at the upper end of the hall is similar to the other but has
divergent braces crossing the passing-braces to form saltires. The truss was
jettied into the hall over the dais (until altered in perhaps C18), and there
is evidence for a massive supporting archbrace, perhaps one of a series.
Splayed and tabled scarf joints with undersquinted butts. The medieval roof
was rebuilt c.1770, but many C13 and C15 rafters are reused, the former having
had notch-lap jointed collars but no other bracing (apart from passing-braces
at trusses). In early C14 a wing was added to the south-west corner; it
contained a solar of at least 3 bays, of which 2 remain. The main open truss
has a cambered tiebeam with ovolo moulding continuing along the thick
archbraces and applied cornice. Two long slender knee-braced octagonal
crownposts with roll-moulded capitals. (compare Church of St. Mary, Flowton,
Item 6/110). The hall has a mid/late C16 inserted upper floor with moulded
joists. Circa 1600, the west wing was truncated and extended.
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