Berry House, Wivenhoe

Summary

An early to mid-C19 cottage.

Reasons for Designation

Berry House, The Quay, Wivenhoe, a house predating 1840, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Architectural interest: the house retains a well-executed facade with polite detailing to the doors and windows;
* Group value: with The Vines and Quay Cottage and other buildings on The Quay, listed at Grade II, contributes 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.

Berry House is an early to mid-C19 cottage which is little altered. It is said to be attached to an additional dwelling known as Fisherman's cottage which is believed to be greatly altered. Berry House was extended to the rear in the 1990s.

Details

Early to mid-C19 house.

MATERIALS.
Over painted brick, rendered on the ground floor with a peg-tile covering to the roof.

EXTERIOR.
Two storeys and two and a half bays with a ridged and hipped roof. The timber entrance door with panelled reveals lies to the right, with an 8 over 8 sash window and C20 French windows to the left. There are two, 8 over 8 sash windows at the first floor.

INTERIOR.
Not inspected.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

421651

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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