Architecture Old Punch Bowl

the building four-bay hall-house.

the old punch bowl considered example of wealden hall house; , viscountess wolseley s 1930s review of historic houses of sussex identified 1 of county s 2 publicly accessible (rather privately owned) mediaeval hall-houses, along alfriston clergy house. has therefore been subject of several architectural studies.

as built, structure partly open-plan hall-house 4 bays. bays @ north , south ends had joists support exterior jettying, extended 18 inches (46 cm) on floor below. overhang lessened later building work. fifth bay added @ north end before 1550. has different roof profile , more prominent jettying, , may have been separate building @ first. recessed central bays forming main hall still intact , visible.

the roof tiled, although horsham stone used , straw may have been used in building s history. hipped on south side , gabled @ north, behind modern chimney. internal roof structure uses crown posts , queen posts throughout, mixture of flat , arched tie-beams. except in south bay, of internal timbers original, albeit reconditioning, , 20th-century work uncovered them first time in many years.

the windows small and, on upper floor, under eaves. 2 have 16th-century mullions, , 1 in west face still has triangular holes in metal bars mounted provide security before window-glass became common.

hall-houses predated invention of chimneys, , wattle-and-daub smoke hood used until first chimney added central bay in around 1600. has been described fine example of [late] tudor chimney .