Description

The list description was amended on 23 March 2011-

- II

TL 72 NW SHALFORD WATER LANE
(north side)

3/83 Bellows

A cottage of the C17 and later, altered and extended in the C20 and C21. The late-C20 and early-C21 extensions have no historic interest.

MATERIALS
Timber-framed, rendered with a thatch roof, the covering and upper structure of which was replaced in the late C20. Tile and pitch coverings to the rear extensions.

PLAN
One storey with attics and of four bays facing south-east with C20 and C21 extensions to the rear.

EXTERIOR
The façade has an off-centre C20 entrance door and dormer with gablet at attic level. A rebuilt ridge stack is sited one bay from the left. There is C20 fenestration to the front and rear.

INTERIOR
The south-west bay has remaining tie beams and wall plates; the central and north-east bays retain the sole plate, wall studs (some reused) and posts to the rear. Chamfered, axial and transverse bridging beams have stops and later joists some of which are re-used timbers. The framing is jointed and pegged. The inglenook fireplace at the south-west end has been partially rebuilt in the C20, but contains C17 and C18 bricks. A straight run C20 staircase leads to the attic where the wall plate and tie beams remain, although one tie beam has been partially removed. Approximately two-thirds of the upper roof structure survived the fire of 1990. Purlins, some rafters and a wattle and daub panel remain in the roofspace.

HISTORY
Bellows was originally a C17 modest, two-room cottage, probably extended to the west by one bay. In the 1960s the building was refurbished and the rear left-hand and central flat-roofed extensions were subsequently added. In approximately 1990, a fire in the roof at the south-west end necessitated the rebuilding of the fireplace (with original bricks), stack and front dormer and the replacement of some roof timbers and the thatch covering. A further rear extension was added to the right and the building was extended further to the rear in the early-C21.

SOURCES
RCHM (E) An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Essex 1916-23.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Bellows, Water Lane, Shalford, a C17 vernacular building altered in the C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons.
* Architectural Interest: The cottage retains a significant proportion of its original, jointed and pegged timber, frame including axial and transverse bridging beams of large scantling with wide chamfers and stops, and two-thirds of its roof structure.
*Intactness: It is acknowledged that alterations have occurred to the building since it was listed, but although these have resulted in the loss of some historic fabric, the survival of the original fabric outweighs the relatively minor alterations which are to be expected in a cottage of this age and the effects of the fire.
*Group Value: Bellows has group value with nearby listed cottages on Water Lane.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26493611

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.

Recommended Books

• 
  Old House Handbook 2 Books Bundle Collection (Old House Handbook: A Practical Guide to Care and Repair,Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability)
• 
  Drawing up a Local Listed Building Consent Order: Historic England Advice Note 6
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Northamptonshire: Buildings of England Series (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Somerset: South and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]