Monument record 535/0/2 - Cross Tree farmhouse (unlocated)

HER note 01/04/2014: this house may be 11 London Road (HER ref. 535/0/22) - the profile of the cruck truss is identical and the dates of the surveys of each building would coincide. Medieval cruck framed open hall house.

{1} The sole evidence for a medieval house with open hall is the central cruck frame, spanning 5.6m. The blades were raised on stone walls, and have a collar with dropped abutment for the knee braces. On the soffit of this collar a four leaf boss was carved. The heads of the blades were joined with an extended saddle, and a king post mounted on the tie presumably halved over the saddle and carried the ridge, a form of construction noted at Brafield in the 15th century. Butt purlins were windbraced but neither survived.
The significance of this fragment is that although when discovered it was in a cottage of modest social standing, it matched the social level of other houses included in this discussion. Clearly it was a two-bay hall, with a span adequate for a manorial establishment, and with a high quality of finish.

<1> Woodfield P., 1981, The Larger Medieval Houses of Northamptonshire, 16/167 (checked) (Article). SNN23550.

<2> R.C.H.M.E., 1992, National Archaeological Record Recording Form, (checked) (Recording Form (Not SMR)). SNN47977.

Record last edited

Feb 22 2024 9:40AM