No 20-24
No.20-24 I am grouping these three together as the 'listed buildings' directory considers the group to be derived from an original 'cross passage house' dating from the 1500s, so who am I to differ?!
I have described the general development of cross passage houses on another page of this site (cross passage house - opens in new tab) if you are interested.
No.20-24
Obviously, the whole building will have gone through several changes in the last 500 years, so any observations can only identify some questions as to timing! I am a bit puzzled by a few points with this group.
N0.20
The earliest photo I have found of this group is from about 1895, I believe (see below). This shows No.20 with a lower roof than the other two. It is still lower in the 1916 and 1930s photos. But by the 1950s photo, the roof had been raised to match eaves height with the others.
N0.22
No.22 - Hall Cottage,
The central 'Hall cottage', would seem to be classic for the hall section of a cross passage house which contained the fire, initially without chimney, but with the later added main chimney next to the passage way through to the rear of the building. The passage remains today. The first floor windows are of the leaded light style which were the original way of fixing glass for windows. Interestingly, the small left hand upper window of No.22 which is above the passage, is right up under the eaves. This would suggest that either the roof level had not been raised as it has on No.20, or the window had been raised with the eaves - (note the lower height of the right hand window in No.20).
N0.24
No.24
No.24 is slightly unusual in that it also has a chimney, with 'listed' mention of the 'broad fireplace with a chamfered bressumer' (lintel beam). I have not seen it myself, but the mention of a 'broad fireplace' would suggest something larger than one would expect for a small scale section of a house like this. Usually in a cross passage house, the central hall section was the only one with a fire, the end sections did not have fireplaces. Presumably this extra main fireplace and chimney in No.24 was a later addition, possibly the size of this would suggest perhaps an area for cooking activity? However, it was still old enough and large enough to receive mention in the 'listed' description. I am curious!
Photos show that during the 1900s and beyond there have been a few alterations to the window sizes in all sections, and also the raising of the roof eaves of No.20:
1895
1916
1930s
1950s
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This page is still under review, please come back to see future additions.
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