Forge Sound in 2012
From: Forge SoundThese notes on the history of Forge Sound were written by its present owner, Tony Perkins.
In the year 1350, England under King Edward 111 was at war with France, and the Black Death was raging throughout the Land, but to the people of East Meon life continued much as usual – land was farmed ,livestock was herded, corn was milled and houses were built. There was probably a ford over the River Meon, where the track led to the Bishop of Winchester’s Court House. A house was built on either side of this track, and both are still standing – though their surroundings have changed somewhat in the succeeding centuries. Nowadays they are known as Riverside and Forge Sound.
Forge Sound was built of timber, wattle and daub, and thatch on a flint base in a manner which is nowadays referred to as a Hall House. In addition to the nave formed by the vertical cruck beams,there is an isle on the west side, where the roof rafters are extended to within three feet of the ground to provide additional storage space. The roof timbers are conformed in a style known as ‘sans purlin’ which was used in houses of this type and gives one Indication of the date of construction.There was a square louvre in the centre of the building and smoke gablets at each end of the ridge. Smoke blackened wattle and daub are still a feature of the louvred sides. It is a feature of the house that the beams are exposed wherever possible. Originally the house was designed as an open nave with three equally spaced bays. (Edward Roberts’ diagrams, displayed in that section, show the structure.) The floor was of beaten earth, and recent work on the house reveal that this was still the case until quite recent times when tiles were laid directly onto the ground.
There is no indication of an upper floor until the addition of a massive longitudinal beam, and floor joists some two hundred years after the house was built. This was apparently taken from another building as it is too short, one end is supported on a much smaller post than seems inappropriate for a timber of this size , and the other is extended by a yoked beam. At the same time, an Inglenook open fireplace was installed in the north wall. The configuration of the timbers on the east wall show that originally there was a doorway and a single window on this side of the house. Positive evidence of the construction date c 1300 – 1350 is confirmed by unique scarf joints in both wall plates.
Little is known about the early history of the House since , like most of East Meon at the time, it was the property of the Church, and as such was tenanted to the Church’s nominees. No Title Deeds or other transfer documents were required. The earliest Documents in our possession, which are displayed on the Early Documents page, relate to a Fine (Lease) granted by the diocese of Winchester to Elizabeth Wolfe on the 24th October 1819. The House was then known as ‘Trimmers’ Cottage. It seems that the House remained the property of the Church until 1934, when a Deed was signed by the Diocese giving compensation to Laura Louisa Hockley (Widow) on the 8th November. The name of the House was changed to ‘Hockley’. At some point the house was divided into two cottages, each having two downstairs and two upstairs rooms. The privies were located outside in the garden to the west of the house.
There are two original Insurance plaques, one on the west and one on the south walls. Perhaps each cottage was insured separately. These plaques were traditionally placed high up (so that they could not be stolen and affixed to other properties). The Sun Disc (No 112958) indicated that Fire Insurance was covered by the Sun Insurance Co, which started operations before 1710. The Number is that of the Policy, and had to be produced in the event of a claim. I have no information of the second plaque issued by the ‘Farmers Fire and Life Insurance Company’ .
During the Second World War, the house was further divided to provide shelter for four families, two of which were evacuated from Portsmouth during the bombing. One of the evacuees recently visited the house during a Gardens Open afternoon, and confirmed the layout at the time – it was extremely cramped !
In 1948 the two cottages were occupied by William (Jumbo) Blackman and his Family, and the Box Family. In the same year the house was purchased by Mr Cecil Hopkinson of the Court House, East Meon, who in turn sold it to Mrs Eva Iremonger in 1958 for £ 550. She restored the House to a Single dwelling and changed the name to ‘Forge Sound’. She lived there until her death in 1981. In the same Year the District Council applied for ‘Listed Building’ status, and it is now a Grade II * Listed Building
Creator
Tony Perkins,Date of creation
2012Date of coverage
1300 - 2012Place
East Meon, Forge SoundContributor
Tony PerkinsCopyright
Michael BlakstadReference number
EM/0032/0001Accession number
2013-011-015Storage location
Larger resolution images are available /Resources/places/Forge SoundFormat
Digital photographs- 25th (1 result)
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