Stoneacre is a charming, half-timbered gentleman's house dating
from about 1480. Yeoman farmers of this time built to a standard
pattern that had remained unchanged for generations. The core of
the house was a central hall open to the rafters. Screened from
the hall on either side were two floors of smaller chambers.
These rooms provided the privacy that was increasingly demanded
in an age of communal living. By the end of the First World War
Stoneacre had become derelict. However, in the 1920s the
building was extensively and painstakingly restored by Aymer
Valance. The house seen today is thus a scholarly recreation of
a Tudor timber -framed house rather than an unaltered original
building. The door on the main front, with its Elizabethan lock
and 16th century Flemish knocker, leads into the great hall.
This room is spanned by magnificent timberwork. A rare and
beautiful kingpost, formed by a cluster of four engaged shafts,
is the most remarkable feature of the house. The oak screens are
original and the ha