Willow Cottage

Summary

Small vernacular C18 cottage extended before the mid-C19. Restored and extended with listed building consent granted 1995.

Reasons for Designation

Willow Cottage, formerly known as Cliff Cottage, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* being a good example of C18 local vernacular construction, retaining original features, such as the exposed internal structural timbers and its direct entry plan form.

Historic interest:

* a small, simple vernacular C18 house built outside of the village, probably for an estate worker.

History

Willow Cottage, formerly Cliff Cottage, is thought to date to sometime in the second half of the C18. It was originally a small house of two bays and two storeys with a single ground floor room accessed directly via the south-west elevation, the house backing onto what was the main road between Sinnington and Pickering. It was extended to the south-east by a single, two-storey bay with its own gable end chimney stack before the mid-C19. The house is shown on the Ordnance Survey 1:10560 map surveyed 1853 set within a roughly triangular field extending to the south-west which is labelled ‘Broad Butts’, the footprint of the building being a similar size to the house as extended in the mid-1990s. The 1891 1:2500 map shows the house with a smaller footprint, probably that which survived in 1987, the house and single bay extension, with small outbuildings attached to the south-east gable. This map marks the house as Cliff Cottage and still shows it undivided from the field, which is no longer labelled. The next edition (revised 1910) shows the cottage separated from the larger field, set within a small curving enclosure.

The origins of the house is uncertain. It is slightly unusual in that it was built outside of the village yet was clearly not a farmhouse. The North Yorkshire County Record Office holds a collection of 17 documents dated 1756-1837 ‘Title deeds: Broad Butts and the Paddocks, Sinnington Lodge and Great Barugh estate’ (reference ZQV 25/1) which may include reference to Cliff Cottage (as Broad Butts), possibly showing that it was built for an estate worker such as a gamekeeper associated with Sinnington Lodge which lies just over 700m to the south-west.

The house was added to the List in 1987. In the mid-1990s it was renovated and extended with listed building consent granted in 1995, the alterations detailed to closely match the original. The pre-1850 extension was enlarged by a further two-storey bay, but with the loss of its chimney stack and a single storey scullery (which had not been detailed in the List description). A single-storey bay with a lean-to roof was added to the south-east gable of this extension with a doorway facing the road, this protected by an open-fronted timber porch. A further single storey extension was added to the north-west gable end with a gabled roof, this replacing a prefabricated shed used as a garage. Other alterations included the replacement of the windows with small-paned Yorkshire sliding sashes which appear to be modelled on the first-floor example on the roadside elevation – this window possibly being the only survivor of those present at the time of listing in 1987. The original form of the windows is unknown but might have included small-paned casements.The late C20 extensions are not included in the listing.

Details

Small house, second half of C18, extended before the mid-C19, renovated and extended mid-1990s, the late C20 extensions being excluded from the listing.

MATERIALS: Rubble sandy limestone, some of the quoins being herringbone tooled, some evidence of a former lime render finish. Stonework of the 1990s extensions (that are excluded from the listing) is similar but clearly identifiable. Most window openings have timber lintels and replaced cast stone sills. Window joinery is also generally replaced but traditional in style: small-paned Yorkshire sliding sashes. Roofing is of traditional pantiles, those to the original house being older. The single surviving chimney stack is rebuilt in modern brickwork. Replaced plastic rainwater goods.

PLAN: the original house was single-celled, direct entry. The staircase is sited opposite the front door, rises to a half landing where it divides to run along the rear wall, providing access to the upper floors of both the original house and its early extension.

EXTERIOR: south-west (garden) elevation: two-bay, two-storey house with quoins and coped gables with shaped kneelers. First-floor windows are evenly spaced. To the ground floor there is a single, large, near-central window. To its right, offset close to the south-west gable, is the main entrance protected by a C20 timber porch. This entrance has a simple timber doorframe fitted with a planked door hung on C18 style strap hinges. Attached to the south-west gable is a pre-1850s two-storey, single-bay extension that is slightly set back. Its gable end chimney stack was removed when the house was extended by a further matching bay to the south-east that is not included in the listing. The single storey addition to the north-west gable of the original house is also excluded from the listing.

North-east (roadside) elevation: this is mainly blind but has four scattered windows, three being to the ground floor, three being to the original house including the single first floor window. This upper window, lighting the stairs internally, has a timber sill and a twelve-pane Yorkshire sash. It is detailed slightly differently to the other windows and is considered to have been that described in the 1987 List description. This elevation of the original house is quoined and has shaped kneelers matching those of the garden elevation.

INTERIOR: internal finishes (floors, plasterwork, joinery) is generally renewed, although the plaster is cut back to expose various timber lintels which are likely to be mainly original and in situ. The ground floor, now covered in modern timber flooring, is concrete. The original house retains a waney-edged beam to the ground floor ceiling which is chamfered to run-out stops that are positioned to indicate that this beam is original and in situ. This supports exposed joists that are also considered to be original on the north-western side but are clearly renewed in hardwood on the south-eastern side. The fireplace, which is a recent reconstruction, incorporates a pair of shaped stone corbels which look like reused C18 kneelers for supporting coping stones on a gable end. The staircase is a mid-1990s reconstruction but considered to be in the original location. The original house retains a partially exposed A frame truss and three purlins, all of waney timber. Although a horizonal crack in the collar is partly infilled with plywood fillets and at least one of the purlins appears to be a reused wall plate, these timbers are considered to be surviving elements of the original roof structure. The roof structure of the early extension has been replaced.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

382512

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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