872/0/10022 LIPTRAPS LANE 21-MAY-02 Liptraps House II House, formerly farmhouse. Late C16, refronted in C18 and extended in first half of C19. Eastern part timberframed, clad in tile-hanging to first floor and underbuilt in brick (now painted) to ground floor; western part of diaper work brick , western gable end part hung with fishscale tiles, part rendered. Tiled roof with off central brick chimneystack to ridge, external chimneystack to east and rear stack. Two storeys: irregular fenestration. Plan was originally a three bay lobby entrance house which was extended by one bay with parlour to front and further service rooms to rear in C19. EXTERIOR: South or entrance front has half-hipped roof to east and two hipped dormers with casement windows. Other floors have two four-light casement windows and doorcase with half-glazed door. Western part has projecting two storey gabled porch with ornamental bargeboards and three-light casement on each floor with ornamental glazing bars. Cambered entrance to west. Two further casements. West elevation has three-light casement to first floor and five-light bay with glazing bars to upper part only. East elevation has external stack and bricked up round-headed arch. North or rear elevation has two casement windows to west and C19 square brick glazed-in porch with half-glazed door with panels below. Western part has large gable with casement windows and half-glazed door facing east. INTERIOR: Much of the C16 frame is visible including spine beams to ground floor (one boxed-in), wall frame to first floor including jowled corner posts and queenpost roof with original partition wall. One section of original rafters is exposed, together with a wattle and daub panel to the original west wall and the remainder of the rafters probably survive behind later plasterboard. Grooves in the first floor carpet suggest wide floorboards which could be late C16. Half-winder staircase from first floor to attic is probably C18. The original large open fireplace survives to the penultimate eastern ground floor room but there is a C19 oak bressumer, built-in settles and brickwork. C19 staircase with turned balusters, C19 patterned tiled hall floor , several C19 fireplaces with cast iron firegrates, one with decorative tiles and C19 panelling to the upstairs corridor. HISTORY: Site formed part of a monastic manor belonging to the Knights Templars. On 1868 Ordnance Survey map the outline of the monastic enclosure surrounding the house and farm buildings was still visible.