Wickford

102. WICKFORD. (D.c.)

(O.S. 6 in. ^(a)lxix. N.W. ^(b)lxix. S.W.)

Wickford is a parish and village 4 m. E. of Billericay.

Ecclesiastical

^a(1). Parish Church (dedication unknown) stands E. of the village. It was entirely re-built in 1876, but re-set in the E. wall are parts of the jambs and mullions of an old window. Re-set in the N. wall of the vestry is a 15th-century window of two trefoiled lights.

The Roof of the chancel is of late 15th or early 16th-century date and flat-pitched; it is of two bays with moulded main timbers and joists; the plates have two rows of carved cresting, and there are carved flower and foliage bosses at the intersections of the purlins and intermediates; the tie-beams have curved braces with shields in the spandrels.

Fittings—Bells: two, both by Kebyll, 15th-century and inscribed, 1st, "Sancta Katerina Ora Pro Nobis" and, 2nd, "Sit Nomen Domini Benedictum." Font: octagonal bowl with moulded under-edge and base, plain stem, 15th-century, probably partly re-cut.

Condition—Rebuilt.

Secular

^a(2). Homestead Moat, at the Rectory, on opposite side of the road, 100 yards S. of the church.

Monuments (3–7).

The following monuments, unless otherwise described, are of two storeys, timber-framed and weather-boarded, with tiled roofs. Some of the buildings have exposed ceiling-beams and original chimney-stacks.

Condition—Good or fairly good.

^a(3). House, now three tenements, on N.W. side of the main road, 800 yards W. N.W. of the church, is of timber-framing partly plastered and partly weather-boarded. It was built in the 17th century on a rectangular plan with a central chimney-stack and has modern additions at the back. The chimney-stack has two diagonal shafts.

^b(4). Great Broomfields, house, about 1 m. S.S.W. of the church, is of one storey with attics and is of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the S. and E. The S. wing is of 16th-century date and the N.E. wing was added in the following century; there are modern additions on the E. On the W. front there are two gabled dormers and a gabled porch; the 17th-century chimney-stack has two diagonal shafts.

^a(5). Wick Farm, house and barn, ½ m. S.S.W. of the church. The House is of T-shaped plan, the N. cross-wing being of early 17th-century date and the S. wing a later addition.

The Barn stands to the S. of the house and is of 17th-century date. It has a S. porch and is divided into five bays by queen-post trusses; the tie-beams to the two middle trusses have curved braces.

^a(6). Shot Farm, house (Plate, pp. xl–i), now two tenements, and barn, 1 m. E. of the church. The House was built in the latter half of the 16th century, and is of L-shaped plan with the wings extending towards the S. and W. and has a modern addition on the N. The S. chimney-stack is octagonal and has two octagonal shafts with moulded bases. Inside the building some of the timber-construction is exposed and some of the rooms have open-timber ceilings. On the ground-floor is an original doorway with a four-centred head. In the first floor are two exposed tiebeams, one with curved braces.

The Barn (Plate, p. xli), S.W. of the house, is timber-framed and weather-boarded and has a thatched roof. It is of the same date as the house and is divided into six bays by queen-post trusses and has two E. porches with projecting gables.

^a(7). House, now two tenements, 60 yards N.E. of (6), is of one storey with attics. It is a fragment of a 15th-century house, and has at the S.W. end a large 17th-century chimney-stack surmounted by four shafts on a cruciform plan set diagonally. In the roof is a king-post truss with cambered tie-beams and curved braces to the king-post.