Church Cottage

Summary

A cottage of early-mid C19 date with possible origins as an agricultural building and with a late-C20 extension and other alterations.

Reasons for Designation

Church Cottage, Ashwick is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:
* the building is a legible example of a modest early-mid-C19 cottage, albeit with later alterations and a late C20 extension;

* the building retains a significant amount of pre-1850 fabric, the historic core of the building has early-mid C19 origins and has likely been in domestic use from at least 1848;

Group value:
* the building has a strong visual relationship with the Grade I listed Church of St James, and the associated Grade II listed Entrance Gates, Gate Piers and Flanking Walls.

History

An estate map of 1808 shows there were four buildings along the east side of Heckley Lane at this location by this date. One of the buildings may form the oldest part of Church Cottage and archival evidence would suggest that it may have originated as a stable, with subsequent uses as a gig house, a school room and, by 1848, a domestic dwelling (Somerset County Archives, DD/LR/1). The cottage is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey (OS) Map of 1886 with an attached building to its north-east elevation. The attached structure is shown on a slightly different footprint on the OS Map of 1930 and may have been rebuilt by this time and formed the single-story extension to the cottage that was in place at the time of listing in 1984. In 1991, this extension was converted, with an additional storey added and a single-storey lean-to. There were also internal alterations during this time, with walls removed between the bedroom and the stair at first-floor level, and from the ground floor of the extension to create a single, larger room. The roof structure was also replaced at some point in the C20.

Details

A cottage of early-mid C19 date with possible origins as an agricultural building and with a late-C20 extension and other alterations.

MATERIALS: constructed of rubble stone with a concrete pebble-dash render and red brick stacks. The porch is built of timber and brick with a slate roof.

PLAN: built on a north-east/south-west orientation and aligned on the road edge opposite the parish church. It is of two storeys and has a two-storey extension at the north-east end. It is rectangular on plan.

EXTERIOR: the principal front of the cottage faces south-east and is of three symmetrical bays with a central door enclosed in a glazed porch with a gabled roof. Above the modern glazed front door, the rubble stone construction is visible under paint. The porch is flanked by eight-over-eight timber sash windows (that to the left may be of C19 date and has no horns). The first floor has a C20 timber sash with horns to each bay.

To the right (north-east) is the façade to the two-storey extension of 1991, which is set back slightly from the C19 phase. It has two bays of eight-over-eight sash windows wtth horns to each floor. The windows have stone surrounds and concrete sills. There is a secondary entrance in the lean-to to the right end. The north elevation has a single-storey lean-to with two C20 sash windows.

The rear elevation to Heckley Lane is blind except for a single timber casement window to the first floor, likewise, the south gable end has no openings. The hipped roofs are covered in pantiles and there are modern brick chimney stacks to each end of the main roof. The 1991 roofline is of slightly lower height.

INTERIOR: the central lobby has a modern single flight stair flanked by principal rooms to each side with panelled doors. The south room has a modern fireplace with timber chimneypiece and stone inlay and hearth, flanked by full height built-in cupboards to either side. The window in this room retains wainscot panelling beneath the opening and pine floorboards. The north room has a fireplace with brick surround. A cupboard in the south-west corner gives access to the underside of the late-C20 stair. A door in the north wall leads into the kitchen and utility area of the late-C20 extension. The first floor has no fittings of historic note and has varied floor levels between the reconfigured south end of the cottage and the north extension. The roof is of modern construction with the remains of one truncated timber which is likely a principal rafter left in situ.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

266403

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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