Tudor Cottage

Summary

Timber-framed cottage built in the late 1920s or 1930s using salvaged materials by Frederick Burwood.

Reasons for Designation

Tudor Cottage, 19 Elmgrove Road, Gorleston-on-Sea, a timber-framed cottage built in the late 1920s or 1930s using salvaged materials by Frederick Burwood, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it is a picturesque and idiosyncratic building that demonstrates Burwood’s reverence for historic fabric and his care in its re-use, evincing a true craftsmanship in the pegged timber frame and the formation of the moulded brick of the chimneys;
* its timber frame is typical of the vernacular style prevalent in the eastern counties, characterised by tall narrow panels and the use of curved braces between sill and post – here used in the gable heads between the sill and verges;
* it is particularly well preserved both internally and externally, retaining its fixtures, fittings and joinery, much of which is of Tudor origin;

Historic interest:

* it is a notable manifestation of a curious trend in the architectural taste of the inter-war years for re-using old timbers and other materials to create Tudor Revival houses, the best examples of which are listed.

History

Tudor Cottage was built in the late 1920s or 1930s to the designs of Frederick Joseph Swan Burwood, in a small leafy suburb to the south-west of Gorleston-on-Sea. The first edition Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1887 shows that the area was occupied by fields but by the second edition OS map of 1906 Elmgrove Road had been laid out with four houses along the north side. By the third edition of 1927 the majority of the plots had been developed but the site of Tudor Cottage was still empty. It is not known precisely when it was built but it is likely to have been soon after this in the late 1920s or early 1930s. It is first depicted on the 1951 OS map which shows that its footprint has not changed but that a small outbuilding to the west has either been enlarged or rebuilt. In constructing Tudor Cottage, Burwood used salvaged materials from demolished Tudor buildings, including timbers, panelling and bricks, assembling them according to traditional building practices. Soon after it was built, according to the evidence of historic photographs, Tudor Cottage housed a kindergarten run by Miss Muriel Burwood for children aged four to nine. It is currently (2018) in domestic use.

Frederick Joseph Swan Burwood was born in 1872 in Great Yarmouth and died in 1948 in Gorleston-on-Sea. He was a local architect and an early conservationist who had a great interest in historic architecture and furniture. He had a team of men that he sent out to buildings about to be torn down in order to rescue as much historic fabric as possible. Burwood then re-used the salvaged materials in his new buildings, which were constructed in an historic style, mainly Tudor. He had one listed building to his name – Irstead Manor which he converted from three cottages into one dwelling – but unfortunately it burnt down in 2012. Of the buildings that are attributed to Burwood, Tudor Cottage is the last one remaining intact, all the others having been destroyed by fire.

Details

Timber-framed cottage built in the late 1920s or 1930s using salvaged materials from Tudor buildings designed by Frederick Burwood.

MATERIALS: timber framing with brick infill panels, much of which is salvaged from Tudor buildings, with a roof covering of handmade red clay tiles.

PLAN: Tudor Cottage occupies a plot on the corner of Elmgrove Road and Poplar Road. It has an approximately rectangular plan with a small projection on the north-east corner and a detached outbuilding to the west.

EXTERIOR: the one-and-a-half storey cottage is in the Tudor Revival style with a timber frame of tall narrow panels, some with a middle rail, resting on a brick plinth. It consists of a long south range and two gabled crosswings under steeply pitched roofs with salvaged bargeboards carved in a foliate design. Two pairs of ornate octagonal chimneys, constructed using small medieval bricks, rise through the front slope of the south range and the east slope of the west crosswing. These have oversailing courses and raised floral patterns, all in moulded brick. The long south elevation has plastered panels and is sheltered by a loggia with timber supports of square section. From the left, it has a three-leaf door with square glazing bars in a wooden doorframe, followed by two three-light casement windows with small square leaded lights set in wooden frames. The fenestration is similar throughout the building. To the right of the centre is a gabled dormer window set wholly within the roof space. It has bargeboards, braces between the sill and verges, and is lit by a two-light casement window.

The west gable end projects at the upper level which is supported by substantial timber posts with curved brackets. It contains a six-panelled door flanked by adjoining single-light windows. The attic is lit by a single-light window and the gable head has braces between the sill and verges, as do the other gables. To the left of this is the side elevation of the west crosswing which is lit by a three-light window. The panels are infilled with herringbone brickwork, as are all the panels on the ground floor of the north elevation. This consists of the two gable ends of the crosswings which are lit by three-light windows and a single-light window in the upper floor. An enclosed brick porch under a hipped roof projects from the east crosswing and has a timber door with three vertical panels.

The east gable end is lit by a three-light window and a single-light window in the attic. Attached to the north-east corner is a single-storey projection under a steeply pitched roof which is likely to have been the service area. It has panels infilled with herringbone brickwork and is lit by the same three-light casement windows as on the main part of the cottage.

INTERIOR: the interior is said to retain almost all of the original features and fittings. Several of the beams appear to have been reused from much older buildings, as do some of the doors, built-in furniture, decorative panelling and carved timber features. One of the reception rooms retains moulded bridging beams and joists, and a wide fireplace of small bricks with a timber mantelpiece supporting a panel of medieval woodwork which is divided into four panels decoratively carved.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: outbuilding to the west, square in plan. Cartographic evidence suggests that it may retain original fabric.

Sources

Books and journals
Cornforth, J, The Inspiration of the Past Country House Taste in the Twentieth Century, (1985)
Stamp, G, Neo-Tudor and its Enemies in Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, Vol. 49, (2006), 1-33

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