NHER 31857 (Building record) - Appletree, 51 Beeston Common

51 Beeston Common.
A one-storey house with an attic, primarily of early 19th century construction but incorporating a massive flint south gable wall and a large fireplace dating to some period between the late 15th and early 17th centuries. A 19th century bread oven has been inserted into the fireplace.
A lava millstone fragment was found in the garden.
See report (S1) in file.
E. Rose (NLA), 4 July 1996.

Additional photos of the work carried out in 1996 were added to the file. Objects discovered in hearth re-examined.
See description in file.
E. Darch (NLA), 7 March 2008.

September 2022-July 2023. Building Survey.
An enhanced level 3 building survey was undertaken, including a detailed architectural survey and documentary research.
The survey confirmed that the core of the building was likely constructured sometime during the early part of the 17th century. Physical evidence of this period was limited, but archival research identified a history of owners and tenants from the mid-17th century onwards.
The earliest portion of the building is constructed of flint and cobble and may have consisted of a single ground floor combined hall and kitchen with an attic bedroom and store likely acessed by a ladder. As noted in 1996, the house retains an inglenook fireplace which had been blocked until that time and apotrropaic burn marks have been idetnfied in the bresummer beam. The construction is described as a typical Norfolk coastal vernacular dwelling and its residents included a widow, sailor, blacksmith, and agricultural labourers.
The building was extended to the west (also in filnt and cobble) sometime between 1839 and the 1880's. The east elevation was likely remodelled at this time and the interior was sub-divided. As noted earlier, a bread oven was inserted in the fireplace and a collection of objects was deposited behind the oven.
A further western extension was added in brick in the 1930's to accommodate a bathroom. The most recent modernisation of the house took place in the 1990's, with a futher rear extension in brick, construction of a new staircase, and opening of the fireplace and a blocked window.