Developments in plan-form in smaller post-medieval houses:

A case study from Norfolk

Adam Longcroft

The smallest type of plan in the post-medieval period was the single-cell plan which incorporated only a single room on the ground floor. While rare outside East Anglia, they are common in Norfolk. Buildings of this type can be found on the clays of central Norfolk in parishes like Costessey (see Photo above) as well as on the lighter soils of the north of the county in parishes like Stiffkey (see left-hand side of Photo below). Houses with single-cell plans appear early in the 16th century and continue to be built, in amended form, into the 19th century. Before 1650 the main entrance is usually located away from the chimney stack but after 1650 is usually (though not always) found opposite the stack, forming a small lobby. Houses of both types were once a common sight in the Rows of Yarmouth.

No 1 Church Road, Stiffkey

Many small post-medieval houses in Norfolk contain elements within their plans which are essentially medieval in origin. The cross-passage entrance arrangement, for example, is slow to be abandoned in Norfolk and, indeed, persists into the second half of the seventeenth century. The latest known example is Station Farm, Kimberley, dated by inscription to 1716. The cross-passage entry is not only found in single-cell plans like that of 22, Row 117, Gt. Yarmouth, but also in larger houses with two rooms on the ground floor, like Tudor House, Reymerston (which dates to between 1560 and 1600) and those with three rooms on the ground floor (usually the parlour, hall and service room(s)) such as Vale Farmhouse, Stiffkey (c.1540-1600) and Waterloo Farm, Garveston (c.1600).

By the 1580s, a new type of plan had begun to be adopted in Norfolk and other parts of the region. This incorporated a lobby-entrance in which the main entrance was located immediately in front of a chimney stack. Photograph [right] shows what appears to be a lobby-entry plan at Le Grys Farmhouse, Wacton. However, closer archaeological inspection of this property has revealed that entry to the house was originally via a cross-passage. The door was relocated to its present position in front of the stack sometime in the late 17th century, some 50-100 years after it was first built. In the course of the author's research it has become evident that many lobby-entry houses have been altered in this way. Do NHBG members have knowledge of other examples?

The lobby-entry plan is rare in Norfolk before 1600 and is probably outnumbered by houses with cross-passage plans during the first half of the 17th century. However, after the Civil War the cross-passage is rapidly abandoned in favour of lobby-entry layouts and it is the latter which remains the standard plan-form in smaller vernacular houses in Norfolk from 1650 until the mid-1700s.

However, the dominance of the lobby-entry plan was not to go unchallenged for by the 1620s a new type of plan, with three ground-floor rooms, twin gable-end chimney stacks, and an unheated central bay had begun to appear. Adopted by the gentry first but soon afterwards by lesser men also, this plan achieved early popularity in parts of the county characterised by timber-framed construction (anyone wanting to see a beautifully preserved example is referred to Dairy Farm, Tacolneston (right) dating to the 1640s). But in truth this plan type was better suited to mass walling and is seen in greater numbers in brick and stone in north and west Norfolk. A splendid late seventeenth century example can be seen at Hunworth Hall, Norfolk. The plan appears to continue into the 19th century.

Some plans which are popular in other parts of the country do seem to be rare in Norfolk. One example is the L-shaped plan. The author is aware of one beautiful example at Great Yard, Stiffkey, but would love to discover whether NHBG members are aware of others. Another rarity is the plan in which the chimney stack backs onto a cross-passage. Reports from colleagues working in the claylands of Essex and Suffolk suggest houses of this type are commonplace in these areas, but, as yet, securely identified examples in Norfolk are few and far between. Once again, the author would like to hear from NHBG members who think they might know of examples!

Whilst the author's apparent obsession with plan-forms may seem to verge on the 'anorak' it is worth remembering that plans do not emerge by accident. They are deliberately chosen by and built for owners who have a very clear sense of how their social lives and economic priorities can best be served by the houses in which they live. Look at the way you organise your own 'social space' in your own home and you will see what I mean!

Anyone wishing to contact Adam can do so on 01603 593266 or by e-mail: a.longcroft@uea.ac.uk