THE new look, "old look" Ancient House in Walthamstow Village has emerged from its shroud of scaffolding after nearly a year.

The listed building, one of the most picturesque in the borough, is being restored by its owner, Fullers the builders, to look more as it would have done when it was built in the 15th century.

There is still some work being carried out at the rear of the house in Church Lane, but it will soon be complete.

When the parish of Wilcumestou, "the welcome place", was first recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book, it was described as four separate village settlements in the forest.

Waltheoff, the Saxon Earl of Huntingdon who married King William's niece, owned the larger of the two manors on the patch.

Their daughter married Ralph de Toni in 1103 and he became Lord of the Manor, which he renamed Walthamstow Toni, and built his manor house on the edge of Berry Field.

When it was finally demolished in the 15th century, the "hall house" we now know as the Ancient House was built on the site.

At that stage it was one storey. The upper floor and dormers, which are being retained, were added sometime before the middle of the 18th century, and the building was then weatherboarded.

In the 19th century, shops were created on the ground floor, and for many years the building was used as a cycle shop and tearooms.

The weatherboarding was removed by Fullers in 1934, when they carried out a partial restoration as a memorial to WG Fuller.

During the present restoration, previously unknown details about the structure have been uncovered.

For example, some of the original timbers and metalwork have been retrieved and there have been smaller finds like lucky charms that were placed in the wood.

May 20, 2002 19:30