Therfield

129. THERFIELD.

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)iv. N.E. ^(b)iv. S.E. ^(c)viii. N.E. ^(d)viii. S.E.)

Ecclesiastical

^b(1). Parish Church of St. Mary, on the S.W. of the village, is a modern building, but stands on the site of the old church, of which it contains some fragments and fittings, dating from the 13th to the 17th century. The Roofs are modern, but incorporate some carved figures of angels and some bosses of the 15th century.

Fittings—Bells: six; 1st 1689, 2nd and 3rd 1626, 4th by John Dier, 1597, 5th 1608, 6th 1707. Font: octagonal, with plain, moulded basin, late 14th-century. Monuments: in vestry, slab with incised cross: near it a stone with minute recumbent effigy in curious position, and two female figures, in relief, 14th century: in tower, large carved mural monument of cedar to Ann (Horton), wife of Francis Turner, 1677, with carved figures of Time and Death. Piscina: re-set in S. wall of chancel, double, with shafted jambs, early 14th-century. Plate: includes two flagons of 1667. Sedilia: re-set in S. wall of chancel, almost wholly restored, a few 15th-century stones. Miscellanea: in a recess in N. wall of chancel, a stone coffin: in the tower, three carved wooden figures of angels, 15th-century: on sills of chancel windows, and in vestry, many fragments of carved stone, enriched mouldings and corbels dating from the 13th to the 16th century.

Condition—Of fittings, fairly good; some of the fragments are loose.

Secular

^b(2). Mount, with Attached Baileys, forming a Fortified Village, N.W. of the church, standing about 520 ft. above O.D.

Detailed Description—The Mount, which shows no traces of masonry, stands 5 ft. above the ditch, and is 57 ft. in diameter at the base. It is defended on the N. by a dry ditch, from which branches another ditch, also dry, embracing the Bailey on the W.; the bailey, including the ditch, covers one acre. There are slight traces of an inner rampart on the S. and W. sides, and the S.E. arm of the bailey is formed by a long pond. Other Enclosures: there are the remains of a larger enclosure on the S., and traces of a rampart and ditch, which run N.W. from the N.W. arm of the bailey. Entrances: the position of the entrance is not certain, but there is a track through the N.W. corner of the bailey.

Dimensions—Greatest length through mount and bailey N.E. to S.W., 270 ft. Greatest width, N.W. to S.E., 180 ft.

Condition—Much denuded.

Homestead Moats

^c(3). At Mardleybury, fragment.

^c(4). At Fivehouse Farm.

^c(5). Bull Moat, N.W. of Buckland Church.

^d(6). At Hodenhoe Manor.

^b(7). The Rectory, S.E. of the church, consists of a main building of brick, which faces N., and is of late 18th-century date, and a two-storeyed structure on the E., which is built of flint rubble and clunch, and is of the 15th century.

It is difficult to say exactly what part of the mediæval building is represented by these remains, but their size and style indicate a house of some importance, which, as they are well preserved, makes them of unusual interest.

The original plan of the mediæval part of the house has been somewhat obscured. It is now composed of a rectangular block about 35 ft. by 30 ft., with a wing, 24 ft. by 12½ ft., consisting of outhouses and lofts, projecting to the S., but the larger part appears to have been originally a long block with a short wing projecting to the E. at each end. The addition of a wall, at some uncertain date, joined up the free ends of these wings and gave the building its present rectangular form. The evidences of this are an offset in the present E. wall, partly quoined in clunch, and a straight joint which mark the N.E. angle of the S. projecting wing and the S.E. angle of that on the N.; the wall between them is also thinner than the other walls, and is largely built of 18th-century brick, and in the original N. wall of the S. wing is a blocked doorway facing N. The S. wall of the N. wing has disappeared on the ground floor, but is represented by a partition on the first floor, which is carried on a beam. The main block now contains the kitchen, with a long room over it. The two projecting wings and the space between them now contain sculleries on the ground floor, and on the first floor a long room on the S.; the space of the N. wing is now, and possibly always was, occupied by a small chapel, as there are traces of a large E. window. The main block is roofed with a ridge running N. and S. to a gable at each end. A ridge running at right angles to this finishes in a gable over the chapel, and a third ridge, parallel with the first, completes the roof. The N. Elevation has in the centre the stair-turret, with an original window on the W., which lights the kitchen, and is of four cinque-foiled lights with moulded heads and mullions and a square-headed label; above it, under the gable, is a similar window of two lights; E. of the turret, on the ground floor, is an original two-light window, now made into a door, and above it are two other windows of two lights, now blocked, which originally lighted the chapel. The E. Elevation retains no old windows, all having been renewed in the 18th century or later. In the gable of the chapel are traces of a large pointed window, now partly blocked with brick, and filled with a double-hung sash. On the S. of this window is the straight joint, and still further S., the offset in the wall already mentioned. The S. Elevation has a double gable, and, on the ground floor, an original window of four lights, of which two have been converted into a door. Interior: in the W. wall of the kitchen is a wide fireplace, partly blocked, of uncertain date, and in the opposite wall is a large round-headed recess, with an original door on each side, which has a two-centred head and double-ogee mouldings. In the N. wall of the S. scullery is a blocked door with the rear-arch on the S. A door in the W. wall of the kitchen is of similar detail, but has been defaced. The chapel is lined with oak panelling of late 17th-century date in large bolection-moulded panels, with a classical cornice.

Condition—Good; much altered.

^b(8). Elm House, one furlong N. of the church, is a two-storeyed building plastered externally; the S. part is timber-framed, and the N. part is probably of brick. The plan is rectangular, and consists of two distinct sections, the S. block built probably early in the 16th century, and the other added c. 1700; the older part has a tiled roof and a large square central chimney stack, the other part is roofed with tiles on the S. and with slate on the N., and has a chimney stack at each end. The central hall in the S. block, with a room on each side of it, has a large open brick fireplace and a fine ceiling of moulded oak beams; on the first floor are plastered brick fireplaces with four-centred arches. The N. block has a small hall containing the staircase with rooms on each side, and retains many original doors and other fittings.

Condition—Good.

^b(9). The Limes, about 150 yards E. of the church, was built possibly in the 17th century, but has been much altered and enlarged.

Condition—Good.

^b(10). House, used as the village reading-room, about 110 yds. N. of the church, was built probably at the end of the 16th century. It is a timber-framed building of two storeys, facing N., and has a thatched roof. At each end of the front the upper storey, covered with weather-boarding, projects and is gabled; the steeppitched roof between the gables is carried down to the level of the ground floor ceiling, and contains a dormer window. The E. gable has an original feathered and moulded barge-board. The central chimney stack has three original octagonal shafts. Inside the house are some old oak floor beams, and a large open fireplace.

Condition—Good.

^b(11). House, now divided into two cottages, about 70 yards E. of the church, was built late in the 16th or early in the 17th century. It is of two storeys, timber-framed and plastered; the roof is thatched. The plan is rectangular, and the overhanging upper storey on the N. and W. sides is supported on brackets, as well as on the projecting floor joists. At the E. end of the building is a gable, and at the W. end is a cross gable, with weather-boarded ends facing N. and S. The central chimney stack has square shafts set diagonally. In the ceiling of the ground floor are some good moulded beams.

Condition—Good.

^b(12). Cottages, a group, at Tuthill, about 300 yards N.W. of the church, probably originally formed one house, built in the 17th century; the walls are timber-framed and plastered; the roofs are tiled and contain dormer windows.

Condition—Good.

Unclassified

^a—b(13). Tumuli and Barrow: A group of five tumuli, en echelon, and one long barrow to the S., lie on Therfield Heath, W. of Royston, on a spur of the Chiltern Hills, about 390 ft. above O.D. They form a most interesting group; the long barrow is the only one remaining in the county.

The diameter of the base of the tumuli varies from 27 ft. to 66 ft., and the height from 3 ft. to 12 ft. The barrow is 125 ft. long from E. to W. by 65 ft. broad at its base, and is from 5 ft. to 8 ft. high. Another isolated tumulus lies 350 yards to the E., and there are three others within a distance of half a mile.

Condition—Fairly good. The barrow and three of the tumuli appear to have been opened.