Originally a moated house, the moat is now incomplete. The house comprises 2 blocks standing at right angles to each other and joined to form one tenement. C17 and C18 timber-framed and plastered building renovated in the C20. Two storeys and attics. The south block is early C17 with a gabled projection on the north side in the internal angle, formerly a staircase projection. The windows are partly casements (C20) and partly double-hung sashes. Roofs tiled, with an original central chimney stack to the south block with 2 diagonally set shafts on a rectangular base.
From An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex, Volume 1, North West (1916)
Church Farm, house and moat, 300 yards E.S.E. of the church. The House is of two storeys, the walls are of plastered timber-framing; the roofs are tiled. The plan is L-shaped, with the wings extending towards the W. and N. The W. wing is probably of early 17th-century date; the N. wing was added late in the 17th or early in the 18th century, and at the same time a small staircase projection was built in the angle between the wings. The date 1775 on the N. wing probably refers only to repairs or alterations. The original chimney-stack of the W. wing has grouped diagonal shafts on a square base with a moulded capping. Inside the building in both wings are exposed ceiling-beams. In the N. wing is a wide open fireplace containing an old jack. The Moat is incomplete.
For something of the recent history of Church Farm, see this conversation with Ian Beaton.
