| Description | Cheesecake Hall, Oulton. Early 16th century timber framed house dismantled c.1977. Timbers in storage
Cheesecake Hall is described in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal, 1974 (Hutton, K. 1974. 'Cheesecake Hall, Oulton, West Riding'. Yorkshire Archaeological Journal. Volume 46. Pages 82 to 86).
The hall is described as originating as an early 16th century timber framed house, originally single storey but altered in the 17th century. At the time of survey the building had roof tiles removed and was in a derelict condition.
The walls are built of shaley sandstone, rendered at the front with pebble dash, and roofed with stoney slates. It incorporates three trusses. There are outshuts along the back (north) of the house and farm buildings extending in a line east from it.
The three trusses occur in the west gable wall, as a partion between the parlour and house body, and towards the eastern (kitchen) end. The trusses feature king posts, studs, split laths with daub and wind braces to the purlins. The eastern truss has, in its upper part, four studs and below the tie beam are braces. This is also the case with the western trusses. The single pair of side purlins runs from all truss, the chamfers stopped at each side of the truss with a plain stop. When they come to the eastern truss the purlins are cut off just beyond the principal rafters on both sides, and there is no sign of wind braces on the east face of this truss. Similarly at the same point east of this truss, the wall plate has been cut. The wall plate and purlins continue eastwards, constructed in re used timbers from other positions; they are roughly jointed to the original plate and overlap the purlins. The northern wall post of this truss remains embedded in the wall.
This seems to have been originally a timber house of four bays divided into three rooms, on one floor only. To the west was a parlour, and in the middle a house body of one full and one half bay. It is suggested, although there is no firm evidence, that the half bay east of the eastern truss originally contained a timber firehood with rail and bressumer. There would probably have been a passage on one or both sides of the fire. It is likely that the third ground floor room was the service end of the house. Into this end would have been the original entrance, where there is now a door. There was at least one further truss of timber framing in filled with six studs, because its tie beam with appropriate mortices for braces, kingpost and rafters has been reused as a purlin in the eastern outshut. From the appearance of the additional length of wall plate in the north wall, it might represent part of yet another trimmed tie beam. The head of a south east corner wall post was also found. The house seems clearly to have been originally built as a single dwelling.
Hutton suggest a date of the early 16th century for the original construction with later alterations which include the insertion of upper floor and the rebuilding of the fireplace. |