Summary
House dating to the C17 with late C18/ early C19 alterations, and C19 extensions.
Reasons for Designation
Bure House, a house dating to the C17 with late C18/ early C19 alterations, and C19 extensions, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* it is a good example of a vernacular dwelling that has evolved over several centuries, retaining a significant proportion of original fabric and a lobby entry plan form that is still clearly legible with its central chimney stack and adjacent stair;
* the Georgian façade, together with the rear ranges that step downwards, presents an evolved building that has happily resulted in a composition of considerable aesthetic appeal;
* the local building materials of flint and handmade red brick add a further textural richness to the whole;
* internal architectural detailing, including historic joinery and fireplaces, appears to survive.
Historic interest:
* the frontage illustrates the architectural fashion for gentrifying dwellings in the Georgian period, whilst the addition of the stable is still within the agricultural tradition of housing animals near their owners, thus illustrating both the polite and vernacular influences on the development of the house.
Group value:
* it has group value with four surrounding listed buildings, most notably with the Grade II listed C18 crinkle crankle wall which forms the boundary between the house and the Grade II* listed Church of St Andrew to the north-east.
History
The oldest part of Bure House appears to be the central section of the rear range, positioned at right angles to the south-facing frontage. Based on the evidence of the chamfered beams and the lobby entry plan form consisting of a central chimney stack with adjacent stair, it is very likely that this section dates to the C17. The front range has a similar configuration with an off-centre chimney stack roughly aligned with the front door which indicates that it may also have a C17 origin but the style and proportions of the façade suggest that it was refronted in the late C18 or early C19. The earliest available map evidence is the Tithe Map of around 1840 which shows that, by this date, a stable had been built against the rear range. By the publication of the first edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1886, another outbuilding had been built against the stable, and a small extension added to the west elevation of the house. The second edition OS map of 1905 shows that a greenhouse or conservatory had been built on the east gable end of the front range. This has been demolished and replaced by a greenhouse in the late C20.
The boundary wall between Bure House and the Grade II* listed Church of St Andrew to the north-east is a Grade II listed C18 crinkle crankle wall. There is a private path leading from the house to the church which suggests that the house may have been built, or later used, as a rectory, but no evidence has so far been found to corroborate this.
Details
House dating to the C17 with late C18/ early C19 alterations, and C19 extensions.
MATERIALS: the front range is rendered and the rear ranges are of flint and handmade red brick, all with pantile-clad roofs.
PLAN: the building has a south-facing front range of possible C17 origin refronted in the late C18/ early C19, and a long, multi-phase rear range which steps downwards towards the river, following the topography of the site. This consists of a C17 range, an adjoining stable built before about 1840, and an outbuilding added between about 1840 and 1886.
EXTERIOR: the two-storey, four-bay front range is in the Georgian style. It has a pitched roof with raised parapets at the gable ends, surmounted by terracotta finials, and a square brick ridge stack positioned off-centre to the left. The fenestration appears to have been renewed in the C20. On the ground floor the first bay is lit by a three-light wooden casement under a segmental arch opening. This is followed by a panelled front door with a fanlight, of C20 date, and a small window with leaded lights, possibly with coloured glass. A two-light casement lights the third bay, and the fourth bay has a canted bay window. The first floor is lit by three three-light casements situated directly under the eaves. The left return has a square bay under a roof with sprocketed eaves; and against the right return is a lean-to C20 greenhouse.
At right angles to this is the C17 range constructed of flint rubble with red brick quoins and two plat bands, one just above ground-floor lintel level and the other just below first-floor lintel level The roof is pitched and a wide chimney stack with a brick cornice rises from the centre. The fenestration consists of two-light wooden casements which appear to date to the C20, under segmental brick arches. On the east elevation, the ground floor, which is partially obscured by a creeper, has a window, a canted bay window, followed by another window and a door with flush panels set within a shallow surround of C20 date. The first floor is lit by five windows. On the west elevation a mid to late-C19 extension on the right hand side has a hipped roof and is lit by a canted bay window and a three-light multi-pane window above.
Adjoining this is the stable block which has a shallow pitched roof and is constructed of brick laid in Flemish bond on the ground floor and flint rubble and gault brick above. On the left hand side of the east elevation is a wide opening with double-leaf doors of vertical planks and long strap hinges. To the right is a second, smaller pair, followed by a small two-light window. The hay loft above has two hatches, one above the first door, and the other on the right hand side. It is not clear from the photographic evidence whether the doors are original. The west elevation is blind and has a double-hung door with strap hinges on the left hand side.
The lower outbuilding built against the gable end of the stable later in the C19, has a shallow pitched roof and is constructed of flint rubble. On the east elevation is a wide opening with double-leaf doors with strap hinges, and on the west elevation is a four-light wooden-framed window on the right hand side.
INTERIOR: little is known about the interior although photographic evidence shows that the rear C17 range retains a chamfered beam with a lamb’s tongue stop, and the front range also retains a chamfered and stopped beam. The hall has a pair of semicircular timber archways, of unknown date, one of which provides access to the rear ranges, and the other forming an opening to the open well staircase. Historic joinery, fireplaces and other architectural detailing, fixtures and fittings are said to remain in situ.
