The Black Cottage

Reasons for Designation

The Black Cottage is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* It is a building of three phases which comprises a mid C18 two storey single cell cottage, extended by one bay on each floor in the late C18 and with attached walled enclosure converted into living accommodation in the C19. These successive plan forms are little altered.
* A significant amount of original fabric survives as the C18 external brick walls, chimneystack and roof structure survive intact.
* Internal decorative detail includes an C18 brick fireplace with iron hooks for holding pots and smoking meat or fish, an C18 wooden winder stair and a number of C18 and C19 doors.
* The building shows clear evidence of its building history over three building phases and, apart from the replacement of windows in the C20 within existing window openings and the blocking of a doorcase, is little altered.

Details

687/0/10007

HYTHE
SEABROOK ROAD
100, The Black Cottage

09-OCT-09

II
Cottage, at one time in use as tearooms. North east section mid C18, extended to south east c1800 and C19 extension to west. The C20 south conservatory and cat run are not of special interest.

MATERIALS: The north east and south east parts are of two storeys painted Flemish bond brickwork with tiled roof, hipped to the north east and half-hipped to the south east with tall brick chimneystack. The west section is single storey , mainly of Kentish ragstone with some brickwork above and gabled tiled roof in two ranges with brick chimney at the eastern end.

PLAN: Originally a two storey one bay cottage with end chimneystack, extended by one bay on two floors to the southeast. Later a walled enclosure to the west was adapted to form an additional large ground floor room and the original front entrance on the eastern side of the north east elevation was converted into a window.

EXTERIOR: The north or entrance front of the eastern part of the building has one first floor casement window and two casement windows on the ground floor in cambered head linings. The western window retains a stone step underneath and was originally the main entrance. There is an iron tie. The east side elevation has a change of levels between the north and south sides and a small cambered headed casement window lighting the staircase. The south side has a first floor casement, and ground floor casement with cambered head and rear entrance. The western side of the building is single storeyed and the north side has Kentish ragstone walls, still retaining traces of black pigment, and a wide C19 ledged and braced plank door. There is a bench mark carved to the left of the door. The west side lower part is of Kentish ragstone walling, interrupted by the insertion of two casement windows and the upper part of the wall and two gables is constructed of stretcher bond brickwork. The western part of the south front is built partly of Kentish ragstone and partly of brick.

INTERIOR: The north east ground floor room has a brick chimneypiece in the east wall, mainly of stretcher bond with a timber lintel and cambered arch in the north wall. The chimney contains a large hook for hanging a pot or smoking food and large nails. Adjoining is a wooden winder staircase. The ceiling has three beams with thin chamfers, the nail holes demonstrating it was originally plastered. There is a brick tiled floor, which is at a higher level than the adjoining rooms. The south eastern room has an exposed brick western wall of C18 brickwork, formerly external with a random bond pattern and a ledged plank south door with old hinges. A fireplace is thought to have been removed from the eastern wall. The winder staircase leads to the first floor and has a section of C20 splat balustrading at its head. The north east room has some exposed brickwork to the chimneystack. The south east part is divided into two rooms by C19 plank panelling which divided the single south window. These rear rooms have a half-hipped ceiling with exposed rafters. The roof structure to the north eastern part is hipped with rafters with collar beams. A half-hipped roof of common rafters with ridgepiece has been added to the south. Main access into the cottage is now directly into the western ground floor room. This contains a brick fireplace mainly in stretcher bond with wooden lintel and cambered arch, and a ceiling with exposed axial beam and floor joists.

HISTORY: The cottage is shown on a map of Hythe dated between 1820 and 1830. On this map two other cottages are shown, scattered on the road between Hythe and Seabrook, but this is now the only survivor. It also appears on a pre-1851 map of the Royal Military Canal. On the 1870 Ordnance Survey map the building is shown, still without any surrounding buildings and to its present extent, but there is a dividing line between the eastern and western halves. It is set within a sizeable plot of ground with a number of trees on the west side. By the 1898 map, the plot size has decreased considerably and to the south west is shown a nursery with a number of greenhouses. The cottage derives its name because it was formerly painted in a tar-like weatherproof coating. During the 1930s it was in use as tea rooms called The Black Cottage Tea Rooms.

SOURCES:
1820s map of Hythe.
Map in Hythe Canal Book dated between 1805 and 1851.
Articles in Hythe Reporter of 30 July 1927 and 30 December 1933.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
* A small mid C18 two storey single cell cottage, extended by one bay on each floor in the late C18 and with attached walled enclosure converted into living accommodation in the C19. These successive plan forms are little altered.
* A significant amount of original fabric survives as the C18 external brick walls, chimneystack and roof structure survive intact.
* Internal decorative detail includes an C18 brick fireplace with iron hooks, an C18 wooden winder stair and a number of C18 and C19 doors.
* The building shows clear evidence of its building history over three building phases and, apart from the replacement of windows in the C20 within existing window openings and the blocking of a doorcase, is little altered.

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

506863

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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