Ewell: Church Street - the Watch House and 'Roslyn'

Image: © Stefan Czapski Taken: 10 Jan 2018

View north-east from the High Street. The rather shabby little building with grey doors is the Watch House, formerly the town lock-up and 'garage' for an early form of fire-engine. The house beyond it caught my eye for a number of reasons. Walking downhill along Church Street I first of all assumed that it was brick-built - but the weather-boarding visible from this angle strongly suggests that it is timber-framed. The gambrel roof - rising steeply from the eaves, but then less steeply above the dormers - suggests a fairly early date. It is well known that in Georgian times many old timber-framed buildings were tricked out with brick façades - easily seen in this instance in Chesham, Buckinghamshire: Image Much grander buildings were similarly treated, such as the great Talbot Inn in Ripley. In the case of Roslyn, the Listing text reveals that what you see from the street is not brick but 'mathematical' tiles - tiling contrived to look like brickwork. I have to admit that I was fooled by this trick - and probably not for the first time, as I hadn't (knowingly) seen mathematical tiles before. Beyond Roslyn, the next house up the slope again has a 'brick' front and weather-boarded ends. I haven't found a listing for it, but it could well be that much the same story applies. Listing text for 'Roslyn': https://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101288536-roslyn-epsom-and-ewell#.WlfMdCiGno4

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