AllsoppThe house that came from Suffolk
By Mr. Harpenden
Walk past West Common and you might take Flowton Priory for a Harpenden house that's been here for 500 years. It's certainly old enough, but it only arrived in the late 1920s.
From a Suffolk village
The house was built in the early 1500s in Flowton, a small Suffolk village about six miles north-west of Ipswich. It's a big timber-framed house. Over the centuries it was Flowton's rectory, then a farmhouse, and by the end it was being used as a granary.
Despite the name, there's no record of a real priory at Flowton. The grand title was probably added much later, when Gothic names were all the rage. There's also a story that it was built by the Order of St John of Jerusalem in 1525, but the local historians say that can't be proved.
Taken down, beam by beam
In about 1923 the old house was carefully taken apart. The Ipswich architect John Albert Sherman drew up the plans, and his drawings are still kept at the Suffolk Record Office. It was first meant to go up at Totteridge. By 1928 Harpenden had been chosen instead, and St Albans builder J. Dennis put it back together between 1928 and 1930.
A new home on West Common
It was still unfinished when it was sold at auction in 1933. The new owner, Colonel R H Johnston, finished the work and enlarged the house with timber from an old barn. It came through a roof fire in 1999, was lovingly restored, and is Grade II listed today.
So next time you're out on West Common, give a nod to the house that travelled all the way from Suffolk to join us. It's a private home, so please admire it from the road.
Got a story about an old Harpenden house?
Old photos, family memories or a house with a tale to tell: I'd love to hear them. Drop a line to info@mrharpenden.co.uk.
Mr. Harpenden