Summary

A row of three thatched, diaper-patterned red brick houses with timber-framed upper storeys, built as part of the Savernake Estate holdings in the 18th century. They have since been extended to the rear with lean-to extensions in the early 20th century, and porches and a kitchen and dining extension to the east in the 21st century.

Description

DETAILS: a row of three C18 houses built for the Savernake Estate, with an early C20 outshut added to the rear and several early C21 extensions.

MATERIALS: brick, timber-framing, and thatch, and lean-to with pantile roof.

PLAN: a row of three rectangular-plan houses with lean-to extensions to the north.

EXTERIORS: 12, 13 and 14 Brook Street are a terrace of three houses over five bays and one storey with attic; number 12 is of one bay and numbers 13 and 14 of two bays each.

The front elevation at ground floor is constructed in Flemish bond brickwork with burnt headers in a chequered diaper pattern with two-light casement windows under segmental arches with burnt brick detailing. The attic storeys are timber-framed with brick infill panels in a stretcher bond, and windows are two-light casements sitting under the eaves. Those to number 13 have external pintles. There are three brick chimney stacks, one to the west gable and two ridge stacks and the roof is half-hipped to the east. Number 13 has a modern timber porch and number 14 has a projecting timber porch and modern extension to the east. The lean-to extensions across the rear have evenly spaced casement windows and doors of varying age, most dating from the C20. Access to number 12 is via a modern door in the western gable of the lean-to.

INTERIORS: numbers 13 and 14 originally each had a two-room plan with entrances into the western rooms; they now include additional entrance porches. Number 12 is a single-room plan. Ancillary functions are in the rear outshut as well as the entrance to number 12. Numbers 12 and 14 have modern staircases but number 14 retains a historic fireplace with brick lining and timber bressummer (possibly re-used). The roof structure includes queen strut trusses.

History

12, 13 and 14 Brook Street are located in the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire. The village is thought to have originated in the C10 or C11 and to have been owned by the abbey of Abingdon before becoming associated with the Savernake Estate and the Earl of Ailesbury in the C17. Brook Street runs south-east from the main marketplace in the centre of the village and was extended in the C18 to cross the River Dun, reaching out towards Little Bedwyn. Records, including deeds and the tithe apportionment, show that around this time 21 small houses were built along this new section south of the river by the Savernake Estate. A stylistic review of 12, 13 and 14 Brook Street, which are a row of small red brick houses with a continuous thatch constructed in Flemish bond brickwork with a diaper chequered pattern, supports this date. The second storey is constructed of timber-framing and appears to have been raised shortly after the initial construction phase.

Map evidence confirms that the plan form of the main ranges has not changed since they were first shown on the 1817 Old Series Map for Wiltshire and the 1840 Tithe Map. Late-C19 depictions show numbers 12 and 14 with substantial northern additions. By 1900, these had been replaced by a continuous outshut across all three buildings. Since 1880 the row has been depicted as three individual dwellings across two plots, a pattern that persists on the modern maps despite their sub-division into three plots.

Number 13 has had a modern timber porch added to the front elevation. A single-storey extension was added to number 14 Brook Street in 2011, creating a new kitchen and dining area. These works involved minor alternation to the lean-to and the removal of a casement window from the original eastern gable and its relocation to the eastern gable of the new extension.

Reasons for Listing

12, 13 and 14 Brook Street are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a good example of a row of C18 houses of modest proportions that are representative of the vernacular traditions of the local area,
* for their survival and plan form, representing rural domestic accommodation.

Historic interest:

* for their association with the land holdings and land use of the Savernake Estate in Great Bedwyn.

External Links

• Wikidata Q26285557

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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