Forge Cottage

Summary

Cottage of late C17 or early C18 date. Re-furbished in the 1970s.

Reasons for Designation

Forge Cottage, a late C17 or early C18 Kentish ragstone and timber-framed cottage, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: a rural cottage built of local materials, with ragstone and ironstone galleting and timber-framing, retaining its original plan form of two storeys, and two bays with a sloping rear outshot;
* Interior fittings: includes an open fireplace, ceiling beams, an original first floor partition and a ledged plank door;
* Degree of survival: despite 1970s alterations a significant proportion of the original fabric survives;
* Group value: adjoins no. 89 Station Road, which is also listed at Grade II, and shares with it an external wall on both floors.

History

Forge Cottage probably dates from the very late C17 or early C18. In the 1841 Census returns two smiths and two wheelwrights were listed in Borough Green and Henry Ashdown is recorded as having the forge.

Forge Cottage appears on the 1870 six inch Ordnance Survey map. On the 1885 First Edition 25 inch Ordnance Survey map it is shown as a separate entity, part of a complex of buildings with its current outline, apart from the porch; a well is shown to the south. By the 1896 Second Edition a larger L-shaped building to the south-west on the edge of Station Road has replaced an earlier smaller building shown on the 1885 map and is labelled Smithy. There is no change on the 1908 Third Edition Map except that the well is no longer shown.

Renovations took place in the 1970s.

Details

Cottage of late C17 or early C18 date. Re-furbished in the 1970s, including re-fenestration within existing openings and a porch and rear staircase/bathroom addition. The 1970s alterations are not of special interest.

MATERIALS: the ground floor is of Kentish Ragstone rubble with ragstone and ironstone galleting, the first floor is timber-framed, clad in weatherboarding on the front elevation. It has a tiled roof with a brick chimneystack projecting through the rear slope.

PLAN: a two-storey, two-bay cottage, square on plan with a catslide outshot to the rear or north-east, and a staircase in the northern corner. The ground floor consists of a large sitting room, small kitchen to the north-east in the outshot, and a staircase in the north-west corner. The upper floor has two bedrooms leading into each other, one heated, and a bathroom adjoining the staircase to the north.

EXTERIOR: the principal front faces south-west. The upper floor has two later C20 leaded light casement windows. The ground floor has one similar casement and a smaller fixed leaded light window. On the right hand side is a C20 lean-to porch with a half-glazed door with a leaded light and similar side-light.

The rear or north-east elevation has a tall brick chimneystack - with a base of English bond, and stretcher bond above - projecting above the roof line, in the slope of the outshot. To the right is a 1970s square tile-hung staircase tower with a hipped tiled roof. The windows are later C20 casement windows and there is a half-glazed rear door.

The south-east side elevation is gable ended with one casement window on the ground floor.

The north-west side shares a party wall with the earlier adjoining property, no. 89 Station Road.

INTERIOR: access through the porch leads directly into the sitting room which has a massive brick open fireplace in English bond and stretcher bond. The wooden bressumer above is reported to have been inserted in the 1970s but appears to be of C18 date with a narrow chamfer with runout stop. There is a spice recess, a possible blocked opening for a bread oven and, at the sides, two C20 wooden seats of traditional type with decorative wooden hoods. The ceiling has a central spine beam with one inch chamfer, un-chamfered floor joists, many rough cut and some reused. The north-west side adjoining no. 89 has some visible C17 or earlier box-framed timber-frame to the upper part of the walls.

A plank door in the north corner leads to a narrow kitchen in the outshot and a 1970s half winder open tread staircase with plank balustrades.

The western wall of the larger eastern bedroom has some C17 or earlier box-framing shared with no. 89 and the partition between the bedrooms shows a visible wallplate, two wide tarred horizontal wooden planks at its base, and a ledged plank door leading into the second bedroom with a cockspur hinge probably of late C17 date. The smaller eastern bedroom has C18 bay posts with curved jowls to the tie beam in the partition, and rough vertical studs, probably of C18 date. The north wall is timber-framed with diagonal tension braces and has a brick fireplace, partly in English bond and partly stretcher bond with an elliptical arch.

The roof structure was not inspected (2015) but is reported to contain exposed rafters.

End of official list entry

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