Church Yard Cottage and outbuildings, Orleton

Summary

A pair of seventeenth century timber-framed cottages; a single dwelling from the mid-C19 when they were re-fronted in brick. Barn and outbuilding.

Reasons for Designation

Church Yard Cottage, Orleton, a pair of C17 cottages now a single dwelling, with outbuildings, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it is a good example of a C17 timber-framed building, later fronted in brick to update its appearance;

* the survival of the outbuildings helps illustrate the way the site was used in the C19 and earlier.

Historic interest:

* as a documented example of cottages with orchards involved in the locally distinctive work of cider making.

Group value:

* it shares group value with many other listed houses in Orleton, with these properties jointly illustrating post-medieval life in the village.

History

Church Yard Cottage borders the churchyard of St George’s Church, Orleton, (Grade I listed, National Heritage List for England reference 1349873). It is a timber-framed house with a later brick front, with the plot also containing a detached timber barn and further stone outbuilding. The house is box timber-framed in the style typical of the local vernacular in the C17.

The 1840 tithe map shows the barn and stone outbuilding in their present locations. The accompanying tithe records reveal that in 1840 the current property was four separate plots, which included two adjoining cottages, orchards and a cider mill. All were owned by a Johanne Lowe, who also occupied the western orchard and the cider mill. The southern cottage and eastern orchard were occupied by a William Perry, the northern cottage was unoccupied.

The 1886 Ordnance Survey map shows the cottages as a single dwelling with a footprint the same size as on C21 mapping. This suggests a date of between 1840 and 1886 for the combination of the cottages and the addition of the southern kitchen extension. The brick front is continuous across the west elevations of both cottages and the kitchen addition, so although likely coeval with the works to combine and extend the cottages, it may be slightly later. Some of the floor surfaces, windows and fireplaces date to the mid-C20, and these reflect the most recent phase of physical alteration to the house.

Details

A pair of C17 timber framed cottages; a single dwelling from the mid-C19 when they were re-fronted in brick. Barn and outbuilding.

HOUSE

MATERIALS: oak frame with infill panels of brick and concrete over wattling. The roof covering is slate tiles.

PLAN: rectangular with narrow ends to north-west and south-east (to be referred to as north and south for simplicity).

EXTERIOR: two storeys under a pitched roof with gables to north and south. The front, west facing elevation is in red brick in English garden wall bond with three courses of stretchers between header courses. The openings are under segmental brick arches, and they have brick cills encased in concrete. The C19 pine six-panelled door is towards the south end, and is flanked at both ground and first floors by timber windows with round heads divided by two mullions into three sections of 15 rectangular lights. There is one further window to the north end at first floor level, the space below it solid as it is occupied by the northern of the house’s two staircases. To the south the brick front continues unbroken to the single-storey kitchen extension to which there is a separate plank door.

The north gable end is rendered and has no openings.

The rear, east elevation is in exposed timber framing four square panels high. The lowest panels are infilled in brick, with the timber soleplate at ground level. Other panels are infilled with concrete, with in 2025 many having degraded to show the wattles. There are three windows to the timber-framed section, all with their heads meeting the rails forming the top of the framing’s second square panel from the ground. The first window is to the northern reception room and is similar to those in the west front, but flat-headed. Centrally, to the southern reception room is a C20 window with glazing bar and mullion (now boarded up). A third C20 window to the bathroom is towards the south end of the elevation. Further south, the kitchen extension has a round-headed timber casement window.

The south gable end is blind to its first floor and gable, with the ground floor covered by the single-story kitchen addition under its lean-to roof, this has a central, small horizontal window below its eaves.

INTERIOR: the structure’s timber framing is visible throughout both floors at the gable ends and along the whole east elevation. The plan indicates the house was originally two cottages; a single-cell cottage to the north, and adjoining two-cell cottage to the south, with a kitchen extension southernmost. The main entrance opens directly into the southern of two reception rooms, which has two doors to the north. The first door encloses the northern cottage’s straight flight of stairs, the second opens to its reception room. The ground floor reception rooms both have exposed joists joined into large spine beams with stopped chamfers. A door to the south of the southern reception room leads to a stair hall where the southern cottage stairs (a straight flight with a single winder at the top) are enclosed behind a plank door to the east. There are quarry tiles to the entrance hall and southern reception room, and a parquet floor to the northern reception room. All fireplaces are C20. Downstairs the doors are C19, pine, and six-panelled. Upstairs doors are older, of thin planks, and nailed floorboards are exposed.

TIMBER-FRAMED BARN 7M WEST OF HOUSE

MATERIALS: weatherboarded timber frame on a stone plinth. Clay tile roof.

PLAN: rectangular with narrow ends to north-east and south-west (to be referred to as east and west for simplicity).

EXTERIOR: the main elevation faces south into the plot and has a cart sized double door at its west end, to the centre is a lower height single door. The west gable end and the north elevation to Church Lane have no openings, the east gable is solid except for a doorway to an undercroft.

INTERIOR: king post truss roof.

STONE OUTBUILDING 10M SOUTH OF HOUSE

MATERIALS: rubble stone walls, roof of slate tiles.

PLAN: rectangular, almost square with east and west sides slightly longer.


EXTERIOR: single-storey under a pitched roof with gables to north and south. There is a doorway on the west side of the north elevation holding a timber plank door. The east and west elevations are solid, there are two centrally located windows in the south elevation, one at ground floor and one in the apex of the gable. The windows have nine rectangular leaded lights.

INTERIOR: simple roof of purlins and rafters. Mezzanine floor to south end.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

150111

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Other
1886 Ordnance Survey 1:2500 map.
IR 29/14/170, Orleton parish, Herefordshire. Tithe Commission and successors: Tithe Apportionments, The National Archives.

End of official list entry

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