Nos. 5, 7 and 9 Anchor Hill

Summary

Terraced housing of 1872 with outbuildings to the rear.

Reasons for Designation

Nos. 5, 7 and 9 Anchor Hill, a terrace of 1872 is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: despite some alterations, the buildings retain a characterful facade with simple detailing and contemporary windows;
* Group value: with numerous buildings in the immediate vicinity listed at Grade II, contributing to its special interest.

History

Wivenhoe has Saxon origins; the Domesday Book of 1086 records a small settlement of fewer than thirty adults, livestock and a mill.
In the early C15, the town was owned by the Earls of Oxford, passing to Roger Townshend in the late C16. It seems probable that riverine trade and fishing played a significant economic role in the early development of the town. Ship building is documented from the late-C16 and continued to be an important activity throughout the post-medieval period producing both commercial and military craft near to the quayside up until the mid-C20. A vibrant port had developed by the C18. Shipbuilding continued to dominate and associated buildings such as public houses, maltings and housing, grew in number. A bath-house was built in 1750 by local doctor, Horace Flack, and a workhouse was constructed at The Cross. Racing vessels were built from the early-C19, and continued to be produced throughout the century. The town expanded with the coming of the railways, when its fishery could reach wider audiences, but until the mid-C20 shipbuilding still dominated the economic fortunes of the town. Military vessels and sections of the mulberry harbour, crucial to the success of the D-day landings, were built here, but both of the principal shipyards went out of business in the late-C20.
The draft Conservation Area Appraisal of 2007 describes Wivenhoe as an attractive small port which retains its maritime character along the Quay and Anchor Hill. Its historic core, nestling beside the river Colne and framed to the north by the C14 Church of St. Mary, is visually distinctive and maintains the vibrancy of its historic past.
Nos. 5, 7 and 9 Anchor Hill are a terrace of cottages built in 1872 with single storey outbuildings to the rear. The original plan-form comprised a main entrance to a pair with individual cottages accessed from the pair's central hall. Nos. 9 and 11 were knocked through to form one dwelling (known as no.9). The window to no. 5 was enlarged to form a separate entrance to that cottage. The outbuildings have been altered.

Details

MATERIALS.
Red brick laid in Flemish bond with gault brick details and slate-covered roofs.

PLAN.
Originally one entrance door and an interlocking room plan to each pair, partly surviving in nos. 5 and 7, but lost at no. 9.

EXTERIOR.
Two storey cottages with ridged and gabled roofs, a central ridge stack and two end stacks. The facade faces east onto Anchor Hill and has three gault brick pilasters and an over-painted, nail-head brick eaves-band. The ground floor has two round-headed doors to nos. 7 and 9. There is a 6-over-6 sash window to the right (north) of the door to no. 7 while to its left (south) a window opening has been enlarged to form a square-headed entrance door to no. 5, flanked by two inserted, small rectangular lights. Nos. 5 and 7 have three, 6 over 6 sashes on the first floor. The entrance door to no. 9 is flanked by two, 2 over 2 sash windows with three matching windows on the first floor. All of the openings have rendered heads.

INTERIOR.
No. 9 has been remodelled into one dwelling.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES.
To the rear of the cottages is a single storey outbuilding range, much altered.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

421487

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
, accessed from www.wivenhoe.gov.uk

Other
Colchester Borough Council and Qube Planning, Wivenhoe Conservation Area: Appraisal and Management Guidelines, March 2007,

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