Farndon: The History of a Cheshire Village, Frank A. Latham (Ed.)

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The two groups of timber framed buildings (Grade II) in the village, namely Black and White Cottages and Tudor, and The Chimes, reflect the decline in the standard of Carpentry building which can be associated with the post Civil War period of the seventeenth century. At this time oak was becoming scarce and expensive and the demand for buildings resulted in a great deal of second hand and beetle infested oak being reused for new construction.

The result of this can be seen in the partial replacement of timber with brickwork which can be seen in many buildings of this period. As timber became scarce the close studded facades with decorative panel treatment, which was a feature of sixteenth century building, gave way to small framing with angle braces, these were stable as long as all timbers were considered vital to the construction, but the cutting away of members, to facilitate the fixing of larger windows during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, was often disastrous both to the appearance and stability of such buildings.

The size of the brick infilled panels in both these groups of dwellings is unusually large for Cheshire; these panels would originally have been filled with wattle and daub. The long angle brace (or passing brace) to be seen in Chimes group is a feature of Shropshire and South Cheshire buildings. The dormer windows in the thatched roofs of Black and White Cottages are alterations; any original dormers would have had small pitched gable roofs.

There used to be four Black and White Cottages until about 1937 when the number was reduced to three. One of these has been occupied by members of the Simon family for 100 years. Mr. Tom Simon's father was born here in 1881 and his sister, Mrs. Betty Penk, still lives in the house. The other two are presently occupied by Mrs. M. E. Bird and Mr. E. Edwards.

Frank A. Latham (Ed.), Farndon: The History of a Cheshire Village, (1981)