Summary
Cottage of the late C18 to early C19 with later C19 and C20 extensions.
Reasons for Designation
Chilland Ford, a house constructed in the late C18 to early C19, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural Interest:
* As a good example of the late C18 to early C19 vernacular housing of this area, that retains the structural core and some fixtures of the earliest phase.
Historic Interest:
* Through its legible history as a labourer’s cottage to its current use as a desirable riverside residence; displaying an evolution of change over two centuries, sympathetic to its historic core;
* The incorporation of the 1930s generator house as part of Chilland Ford adds some additional interest.
Group Value:
* As part of a historic, characterful, and picturesque ensemble of designated heritage assets adjacent to the site of an historic ford across the River Itchen.
History
The earliest references to the settlement of Martyr Worthy can be traced back to AD 825 when the ‘Land at Worthy’ was granted by Egbert, king of Wessex, to the monastery of St Peter and Paul at Winchester. Martyr Worthy is referenced in the Domesday book of 1086 as ‘Ordie’ and is described as having a mill, a church, 16 tenants, and 7 slaves. By 1267 the manors of Martyr Worthy and Easton were merged, and in 1541 the combined manors, of which Chilland formed a tithing, were granted to Sir William Sidney. From around 1620 the manor was held by two generations of the Antrobus family, then successively by the families of Wyndham and Abbot, with the tithing of Chilland being sold to Hilkiah Davison of Winchester in 1698. From around 1724 it was owned by the Dales until 1770, then the Gales until 1785, and from 1790 to the Nevills of Upper Chilland House, to whom the original building of Chilland Ford can be attributed. In 1892 the Nevill’s property was sold to Sir Charles Shelley, 5th Baronet, of nearby Avington Park, with the sale particulars describing Chilland Ford as comprising two sitting rooms, a washhouse, pantry, four bedrooms, a garden, and woodsheds. In around 1936 Sir Charles Shelley’s son, Sir John Shelley-Rolls, constructed a generator house adjacent to (but detached from) the east end of Chilland Ford, to supply electricity to houses in Chilland Lane that were built on newly sold-off plots. The generator house was later incorporated into Chilland Ford in 1950 to create additional accommodation.
The exact date of construction of Chilland Ford is not entirely clear, with the Tithe map of 1841 being the earliest cartographic source that clearly identifies the house. This correlates with the brickwork and form of the house, indicating a late C18 to early C19 date.
Census returns from 1841 show the house was generally occupied by gamekeepers, agricultural, and estate workers, probably relating to the fish farm nearby at Lower Chilland House and the wider estate in which the house was located. Following the sale of the house by Shelley-Rolls in the mid C20, tenants were replaced by owner-occupiers, leading to a series of largely sympathetic extensions and alterations to the house to meet their tastes and requirements at the time, but also reflecting the change in its definition from a rural worker’s cottage to that of a desirable riverside residence. Such C20 alterations include the incorporation of the generator house as an extension in around 1950 along with a single-storey extension to the western end of the house which subsequently had an additional floor added above in about 1960, an upper floor added to the former generator house about 1988, and the conservatory in around 1997.
Details
A house, probably built in the late C18 to early C19. Altered in the C19 and extended in the C20.
MATERIALS: brick laid in Flemish bond to the main house, since painted over but reputed to comprise burnt headers for decorative effect. Later extensions to the house are also in brick. Softwood roof structure likely from the C20 but incorporating some earlier timbers, with a clay tile roof covering of various periods. Windows variously leaded in the C20, in both timber and Crittall style frames.
PLAN: originally constructed as a two-bay cottage facing the River Itchen, with an outshut to the rear (north).Two storeys, with a living room and dining room occupying the two bays of the ground floor of the original house, a kitchen within the 1930s former generator house to the east, and a study within the 1950s western extension. The first floor is accessed via a staircase within the C19 northern extension, comprising four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
EXTERIOR: the house has two storeys; its principal elevation faces south toward the River Itchen, with the oldest part of the front of the building forming the central two-bay section of the existing house. Four sets of casement windows (two at each floor) are positioned symmetrically either side of the central 6-flush-panel door in solid segmental headed frame, located within a gabled brick porch. Chimney stacks to the east and west that rise above the roof delineate the extents of the original house. The windows to the ground floor of the front elevation have segmental-headed gauged brick heads above 3-light leaded casements, and the first-floor windows comprise similar 3-light leaded casements but are set below flat brick-fronted lintels. Above the eastern ground floor window is a cross-shaped wall-tie connected internally through to the original rear wall of the house.
The rear of the main house comprises two two-storey north-facing brick-built bays below a pair of hipped roofs separated by a lead-lined valley gutter. The projections include four 2-light leaded casement windows, two at ground floor, and two at first floor, along with centrally positioned single-light leaded casements to the first floor north and east elevations, and to the ground floor west elevation. The window heads follow the pattern of those to the ground and first floors of the front elevation. A brick dentil cornice runs the length of both the north and south elevations. The main roof covering is clay tiles, and the chimney stacks topped by four terracotta chimney pots - two per stack.
Located to the east is the former generator house positioned forward (south) of the original house and now adjoined and incorporated by a single storey pitched-roof passage. Originally single storey, the generator house was extended upwards in about 1988 to create additional rooms within the roof space, with small square lead-cheeked dormers containing leaded Crittall style casement windows - two dormers to the eastern roof slope, and one to the southern. The ground floor fenestration comprises tall Crittall style casement windows throughout, one to the north elevation, and two to both the east and south elevations, along with a matching door in the west elevation providing access to the front garden. A solid timber door provides access to the rear garden through a lobby to the north. A brick dentil cornice similar in style to that of the main house has been incorporated as part of the first-floor extension.
The western part of the building has been altered in the late C20, with a two-storey extension continuing beyond the western chimney stack. The extension has been carefully toothed into the older brickwork to appear seamless and continues the brick dentil cornice the full length of the front elevation. At ground-floor, the extension projects forward of the original building line, covered by a flat roof which is enclosed by a parapet, and to the rear a flat roof at first-floor level. The fenestration comprises timber-framed leaded casement windows to the east and south elevations at ground floor, and to the south and west elevations at first floor.
INTERIOR: the front door leads into the original section of the two-bay house, which is divided by an off-centre north-south partition wall, likely in its original position to divide the kitchen from the parlour. At the gable ends of each room (east and west) are the chimney stacks but with the original fireplaces lost. To the southern side of the western fireplace is a double height fitted cupboard with two two-panel doors, one above the other, likely original. Positioned centrally within each room is a large, exposed north-south chamfered and stopped oak beam supporting the floor above. Most other joinery appears to date from the late C20.
To the side of the eastern chimney stack is a passageway that leads through to the kitchen located within the former generator house, and beyond a lobby and solid timber 5-panel door to the rear garden. To the west, there is a doorway through to the study within the late C20 extension.
Access to the first-floor landing is by a later and relocated winding staircase within the former outshut and positioned immediately opposite the front door. The first-floor rooms are accessed from the east-west landing. Most of the joinery appears to date from the late C20.
An adjoining conservatory of around 1997 is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.
