Little Cottage

Reasons for Designation

Little Cottage to the rear of The Knowle, a small weavers' cottage dating from the C18, is designated in Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Historic interest: as a well-built, small former weaver's cottage dating from the C18, in this area where the production of textiles was a nationally-significant industry
* Intactness: it has undergone very little later alteration, and its plan and fabric are well-preserved
* Rarity: an increasingly-rare example of a small and modest, one-up, one-down cottage which is little altered, and is of good quality in its detailing and construction

Details

BISLEY WITH LYPIATT

1372/0/10012 LITTLE COTTAGE 21-FEB-11

II A former weaver's cottage, probably dating from the C18, with alterations in the C19 and C20.

MATERIALS: The building, constructed from coursed limestone rubble under a Cotswold stone tile roof, has an ashlar stack.

PLAN: The cottage is a simple rectangle on plan, one-up one-down, with a later lean-to privy to the north-east.

EXTERIOR: The main elevation to the south-east has a wide doorway to the right, set under a segmental-arched stone lintel; to its left and above are two-light windows of stone with chamfered mullions. That to the first floor has rectangular leaded lights, while that to the ground floor has three horizontal panes to each light. Attached to the north-east side of the cottage is a later lean-to privy, dating from the turn of the C20, its doorway against the side of the cottage, with the right reveal formed from very large stone quoins. The door has ventilation holes in the upper half. The wall to the right of the front door of the cottage, adjoining the privy, has a slightly buttressed shape, the change in shape and stonework indicating where the adjoining building, probably a weaving shed, was demolished circa 1880-1900.

INTERIOR: Internally, the ground-floor room has a wide fireplace, partly infilled to either side, and a flagstone floor; and infilled doorway and window opening are in the north-east wall. A trimmer joist in the south-east corner of the room indicates the position of a previous stair. There is currently no stair in the building. The first floor has a fireplace with a large stone lintel over, and stone uprights. The first-floor room is open to the roof, which has an A-framed roof truss, formed with paired principal rafters and a lapped, bolted-on collar, all later replacements; the purlins and some of the common rafters appear earlier in date, perhaps dating from the earliest phase of the building.

HISTORY: The building appears to have originated in the C18. Cartographic evidence, in the form of the Ordnance Survey (OS) map series, shows that circa 1884, the building was attached on its north-east side to the north-western corner of a much larger range, probably a weaving shed, running approximately north-west to south-east, to which in turn outbuildings were attached to the rear. At some point after this, the long range and its buildings to the south-east were partially or wholly demolished, and a house, known as The Knowle, was erected over part of its footprint, perhaps incorporating part of the earlier building; it appears for the first time on the OS map published in 1902. At this time, a doorway formerly giving access to the long range from the ground floor of Little Cottage was blocked up, and a lean-to privy erected at the north-east side. A window was also blocked, adjacent to this doorway. The cottage is now in use as a garden store.

SOURCES: Carrick, P, Rhodes, K and Shipman, J: Oakridge : A History (2005), 37 Tithe map, Bisley, including Oakridge Lynch (1842)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: Little Cottage is designated at Grade II, for the following principal reasons: * Historic interest: as a well-built, small former weaver's cottage dating from the C18, in this area where the production of textiles was a nationally-significant industry * Intactness: it has undergone very little later alteration, and its plan and fabric are well-preserved * Rarity: an increasingly-rare example of a small and modest one-up, one-down cottage which is little altered, and is of good quality in its detailing and construction

Legacy

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

Legacy System number:

509565

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.