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Name: | Chavey Down Lodge (Chavey Down Farmhouse), Chavey Down Farm, Winkfield, Berkshire |
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HER Number: | MRM17519 |
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Record Type: | Building |
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Summary
Chavey Down Lodge is shown on Rocques map of 1752. To the north are five ponds in a linear arrangement with other ponds in the immediate area. Later 18th century mapping indicates a windmill at the site.
Monument Type(s):
- HUNTING LODGE (Post Medieval - 1752 AD to 1752 AD)
- POND (Post Medieval - 1752 AD? to 1881 AD?)
- WINDMILL (Post Medieval - 1788 AD? to 1798 AD?)
Description
Chavey Down Lodge formerly lay within the bounds of Windsor Forest. Chavey Down Lodge is of at least mid 18th century date, and could represent a Royal Hunting Lodge. Rocques Map of 1752 shows Chavey Down and five ponds <1>.
William Faden's “Plan of his Majesty’s Forest of Windsor” dated 1788-1791 shows possibly two buildings within an enclosure labelled ‘Chavey Down Lodge’. The buildings are on an intersection of several of the formal rides through Windsor Forest (Old Windmill Hill). To the north of the Lodge are shown a series of ponds, five of which are in a linear north–south alignment <2>.
A plaque with the date 1787 on it and with a royal crown visible was found in the grounds of Chavey Down Lodge and given to a local historian. This is thought to form part of a pump <3>.
A terrier (1788-89) detailing the ‘Contents and Measures of Windsor Forest for the parish of Winkfield’, lists Chaveydown Lodge as lands belonging to the crown, and includes the house, garden, orchard and two small meadow fields. This also lists the ponds: Sheepwash Pond; Pond South and next the last; The Third Pond; Bracknelway Pond and Mill Pond<4>.
Prides map of Berkshire of 1790 shows a building, four fields and a windmill at Chavey Down <5>.
A sketch of the encampment on Windsor Forest dated 23rd July 1798 shows Chavey Down Lodge, ‘five ponds’ and the plan of encampment located just to the east <6>.
Sales details in The Times newspaper dated 1st November 1815 describes “three old inclosed freehold meadows, with a brick built house, stabling and other out-buildings… surrounded by a valuable allotment of land, encircling five ornamental ponds, abundantly stocked with fish….” <7>.
By the 1817 award map of the northward part of the parish of Winkfield, Chavey Down Lodge is shown in one of three enclosed parcels of land. The five linear ponds are shown and the land is in the name of His Majesty. Old Windmill Hill is not marked <8>.
By the 1st Edition OS map although buildings are shown at Chavey Down, four of the five ponds are gone, with only the nearest pond still remaining within a wooded area called ‘Chaveydown pond’. By the 1899 OS map the lodge is renamed Chavey Down Farm. This area is still called Chavey Down pond on present day mapping, although the pond is no longer present.
Chavey Down Farmhouse has been considered for listing by Historic England in 2014 but was considered not to meet the criteria <9>.
Research by Historic England on the building revealed that Chavey Down Farmhouse is a building with C17/C18 origins and C19/C20 additions. Chavey Down Farm formerly lay within the bounds of Windsor Great Park, and earlier map evidence (e.g. the maps of Robinson and Faden) suggests that it originated as a hunting lodge, placed at the intersection of several of the formal rides that were imposed on the landscape in the late C17 and early C18. The timber-framed core of the present building may be of this date; it was later (perhaps following enclosure in the early C19) re-clad in brick and gradually extended - first with a tall cross-wing to the rear, and then (in the course of the C20) with extensions at either end.
It is constructed of red brick with a timber-framed core. The original building on the site appears to have been a two-bay, two-storey timber-framed structure of the late C17 or early C18, with two rooms on each floor and a centrally placed stack. The location of the original stair is uncertain, but it may have been in a projecting bay to the rear. Various extensions have approximately tripled the size of this early building. The first of these, dating perhaps from the early/mid-C19, was the rear cross-wing, which runs back from the left-hand end of the original house and contains the present stair. Further additions to either end followed during the C20, resulting in the present roughly oblong footprint.
The exterior of the building is clad in soft red brickwork of various dates, with a tiled hipped roof. The front elevation forms a continuous two-storey range, with the change in roof height to the left marking the location of the cross-wing. The entrance door is to the left of the stack; its pegged timber surround may be original, although the door itself is more recent. Windows are nearly all rectangular metal-framed casements with 'soldier-course' heads of vertically-set brickwork, suggesting a complete re-fenestration in the mid-C20. The left-hand return features a glazed French door of similar date, reached by twin flights of steps. The rear elevation has rougher brickwork and modern double-glazed casements. The gable of the cross-wing is visible here, encased in later additions; to the left is a recent extension containing the kitchen.
In the interior, parts of the two-bay timber-framed core are visible within the house. On the ground floor, the two middle rooms have exposed timber ceilings with heavy spine beams and paired joists. In the left-hand room all the timbers are chamfered and have carefully-cut run-out stops, suggesting a parlour or other high-status space. (This room also contains a stone fireplace with a Tudor-Gothic surround, C19 or modern reproduction.) The right-hand room contains the hearth (of old brick but with a modern surround) and was presumably the kitchen; the joists here are roughly cut and lack chamfers. Beneath this room is a brick cellar with arched storage recesses. On the upper floor, part of the original rear wall is exposed, with posts (some inserted) and diagonal braces. In the centre of this wall is a doorway, perhaps once accessed from a projecting stair-bay; this opens into to a small lobby with doors on either side leading to the two upper rooms. Part of the roof structure is exposed here, including the central truss with tie-beam, collar and three vertical struts, as well as side purlins with straight wind-braces. A small part of the ridge is visible in the attic above, now wholly encased within the softwood roof of the cross-wing. The other interiors belong to the later phases of extension and contain no features of note.
Most of the outbuildings that once surrounded the house have now disappeared, although the former stables to the south-west retain elements of old brick walling - much rebuilt - in the plinth. The brick terrace wall immediately to the left of the house incorporates what appear to be the remnants of a culvert <9>.
<1> Rocque J, 1752, Map of Berkshire (Map). SRW5366.
<2> William Faden, 1788-1791, Plan of His Majesty's Forest of Windsor made upon an actual survey of the said forest by William Faden (Cartographic materials). SRM14704.
<3> Tracey van Oeffelen, 2014, Plaque dated 1787 (Photograph). SRM14706.
<4>
Mr Bennett & Mr Day, 1789, Terrier of Windsor Forest Parishes Walks and Parks (Bibliographic reference). SRM14705.
<5> Pride T., 1790, A Topographical map of the Town of Reading and of the country adjacent to an extent of 10 miles… (Cartographic materials). SRM13628.
<6> Unknown, 1798, Sketch of the Encampment on Windsor Forest 23rd July 1798 (Cartographic materials). SRM14707.
<7> The Times, 1/11/1815, Chavey Down Lodge, Windsor Forest (Newspaper article). SRM14703.
<8> 1817, The Inclosure map of Winkfield Parish (Cartographic materials). SRM14124.
<9> Historic England, 2014, Designation Decision Records (Non-designated entries), Reference Number: 1419391 (Historic England National Inventory). SRM15080.
Sources
<1> | Rocque J. 1752. Map of Berkshire. [Map / SRW5366] |
<2> | William Faden. 1788-1791. Plan of His Majesty's Forest of Windsor made upon an actual survey of the said forest by William Faden. [Cartographic materials / SRM14704] |
<3> | Tracey van Oeffelen. 2014. Plaque dated 1787. [Photograph / SRM14706] |
<4> |
Mr Bennett & Mr Day. 1789. Terrier of Windsor Forest Parishes Walks and Parks. [Bibliographic reference / SRM14705] |
<5> | Pride T.. 1790. A Topographical map of the Town of Reading and of the country adjacent to an extent of 10 miles…. 1": 1mile. [Cartographic materials / SRM13628] |
<6> | Unknown. 1798. Sketch of the Encampment on Windsor Forest 23rd July 1798. [Cartographic materials / SRM14707] |
<7> | The Times. 1/11/1815. Chavey Down Lodge, Windsor Forest. [Newspaper article / SRM14703] |
<8> | 1817. The Inclosure map of Winkfield Parish. [Cartographic materials / SRM14124] |
<9> | Historic England. 2014. Designation Decision Records (Non-designated entries). Reference Number: 1419391. [Historic England National Inventory / SRM15080] |
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