A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



Dragoi 

 brick. 



ward 



Mr. Wyndhi 



site of Cheshun! 

 of the island foi 

 the abutment? of a 

 moat on the opposi 

 ii the Great House 



mber-framcd house n 

 lies the Lordship, th< 

 House 



Birch, 



i the 



>a:ed 



ed by 



On the west side 

 he moat are the remains of 

 North of this homestead 

 of the road to GofTs Oak 

 lly the house i 



, brick (al 

 ind i 



the 



interesting, having been recased 



north front) by John Shaw in 



large part was pulled down, having become ruinous 



According to an early 1 8th -century print it was at tha 



time quadrangular, inclosing a courtyard, and there an 



indications of a wing having been removed from tin 



The Great house. Cheshunt 



north end of the west front. The south wing has also 

 been pulled down. The house was originally of the 

 latter part of the i;th century and was of two stories 

 with a tiled roof. The south, west, and east fronts of 

 the part that remains arc of plain red brickwork, with 

 a parapet at the top, over which the tops of the old 

 tiled roofs may be seen. The south front has a four- 

 centred arch of stone to the entrance doorway and a 

 round-arched brick window above, all built in 1 7 CO. 

 Part of the north front, however, has not been touched, 

 lor the old walling of narrow bricks, rising 10J in. in 

 four courses, still remains, and in the gable is a three- 

 light window with stone mullions, now bricked up, 

 and above are the bases of three diagonal brick chim- 

 neys, probably of earl v I"th- 

 The interior of the build 



resting, though greatly altered and modernized. It 

 consist! of a Urge hall on the ground floor, at the 

 back of which arc some rooms and a staircase, and 

 underneath the whole is a large basement- The hall 

 is open up to the roof, but the rooms behind have a 

 second and attic floor over them. The basement is 

 very interesting, but it it not easy to indicate the 

 uses of some of the places in it. Though now 

 lighted only from the east side by means of a modern 

 sunk area, there are built-up windows in the west 

 wall showing that it was lighted from the courtyard 

 also It is entered at the north end of the building 

 by a doorway in the external wall, the ground Ie»el 

 being only a few steps up from the floor. This north 

 room or kitchen, the ceiling of which is lath and 

 plaster, has also a door to the 

 staircase. The neit room is 

 somewhat similar ; it has also 

 a large, plain fireplace. The 

 floor above is supported by 

 three old oak beams, each sup- 

 ported in the centre by a cir- 

 cular pier, 15 in. in diameter, 

 built with 2 J in. bricks; these 

 piers have no capitals, but have 

 small moulded octagonal bales 

 resting on square brick plinths, 

 about 2 ft. 6 in. high. One of 

 the piers has gone, its place 

 being taken by a wooden post. 

 There are two windows in the 

 east wall and a built-up win- 

 dow in the west wall. There 

 are two openings in the south 

 wall ; one, at the western end, 

 is a vaulted passage, now partly 

 bricked-up, leading to a vaulted 

 place beyond, the other is a 

 doorway leading to a passage 

 along the east main wall, which 

 gives access to the vaults under 

 the hall. The first of these, at 

 the northern end, measures 

 about 13 ft. by 15 ft. and is 

 covered by a brick vault, ellip- 

 tical in section, in one span. 

 On the south side is a curiou>, 

 small, irregularly -shaped closet, 

 which, perhaps, had a window 

 to the passage at one time. The 

 doorway to this has a low four- 

 centred arch. In the same wall 

 is a small arched recess or aumbry. There is a built- 

 up window in the west wall and a fireplace in the 

 north wall, with moulded four-centred arch and 

 jambs. 



The adjoining vault is curious. There is no sign 

 of any doorway between it and the rest of the exist- 

 ing building ; the only doorway is a built-up open- 

 ing in the main south wall of the building, which 

 gave access to the former south wing. It is not 

 known what is beyond this doorway, but there is a 

 tradition of a stair down to a lower basement, indica- 

 tions of which can be traced by tapping the floor, 

 and it is possible that the stair went up to the 

 covered with three 

 and west, separated 

 ick ribs resting 



hall above. This apartment i 

 elliptical brick vaults r 



•npartments by moulded 



