The Cottage, Staverton, West Northamptonshire

Summary

House dating to the late C17, remodelled in the late C18, further altered and extended in the early C19 and late C20.

Description

House dating to the late C17, remodelled in the late C18, further altered and extended in the early C19 and late C20.

MATERIALS: coursed limestone and ironstone rubble, rear wing of red brick, and pitched roofs clad in old plain clay tiles.

PLAN: L-shaped plan consisting of a front range and a long rear (north) wing with a row of attached outbuildings.

EXTERIOR: the south-facing front range has two storeys and an attic. The red brick gable stacks have octagonal clay pots, and the stone-coped gables terminate in moulded stone kneelers, the two on the east side providing a perch for gargoyles said to have come from Coventry Cathedral. The timber eaves cornice appears to be a re-used skirting board, possibly obscuring an earlier surviving cornice. There are two C20 French windows on the ground floor with timber lintels, whilst the moulded stone hoods above indicate the position of the original three-light mullion windows. The first floor is lit by C20 timber casement windows, positioned right up under the eaves. In the centre of the first floor is a date stone inscribed ‘TH 1699’. The left (west) return has on three levels two-light mullion windows with stone hoodmoulds, all blocked by the later insertion of the chimney except the right light of the attic window. The right (east) return is lit at attic level by a two-light mullion window with C20 leaded lights, under a hoodmould. Below is the small single-storey late C20 extension, constructed of coursed ironstone rubble with (incorrectly) raised cement pointing, smooth concrete roof tiles and a stone gable stack. It is lit on both sides by a horizontal casement window, and the right return incorporates the two-light mullion window repositioned from the original gable end.

The rear (north) elevation has a dentilled brick cornice. The left hand bay is lit on both floors by small square windows with stone sills and moulded stone lintels. In the angle between this range and the rear (north) wing is a two-storey, flat-roofed rendered projection. On the east side of this is a delicate early C19 timber lattice-work porch with a shallow pointed arch under a pagoda-style lead roof. The north side is lit on both floors by C20 timber casements. The rear two-storey, red brick wing has a dentilled brick cornice and brick ridge stacks at either end. The ground floor has three C20 timber casements with cambered brick arches, and a C20 door in between the first and second window. The first-floor is lit on the right-hand side by a C19 metal casement which has slender glazing bars and a twisted stay, under a timber lintel. Attached to the end wall of the rear wing is a row of single-storey outbuildings with a dentilled brick cornice. There are three timber batten doors with wide timber lintels, and a wide opening for wood storage between the second and third doors. The gable end has been rebuilt in modern red brick and a modern garage door inserted.

INTERIOR: this has been modernised but retains some original structural timber elements and a number of fittings dating to the late C18/ early C19 remodelling phase. The principal east and west ground-floor rooms have a chamfered bridging beam and joists. The bridging beam in the west room has a lamb’s tongue chamfer stop on the east end whilst the other end has been repaired, presumably due to being worn by proximity to the fire. The bridging beam in the east room has a simple chamfer stop at the west end, the other end being subsumed by the C20 extension. The joists in the north-west corner of the room are laid at right angles to the others, indicating the repair when the original stair was repositioned. These two rooms have C19 moulded door surrounds, and the west room has an early C19 moulded timber fireplace, painted white, which has corner roundels and a cast-iron insert with a decorative arched opening and grate. The first-floor east and west rooms also have a chamfered bridging beam. The east room has a late C18 door surround and six-panelled door with an HL hinge. The west room has a delicate timber fireplace surround, painted white, with a dentilled soffit and a swan’s-nest hob grate. The attic of the C17 range has exposed purlins but otherwise the roof structure has been plastered over.

The notable features in the rear wing include the brick barrel-vaulted cellar, the hit-and-miss window in the larder, and the brick bread oven with chamfered bressumer which is located in the party wall between the ‘polite’ rear wing and outbuildings. The southern-most bedroom on the first floor has an early C19 fireplace with a simple moulded timber surround, painted white, and a hob grate.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: a red brick wall with saddle-back coping, probably dating to the late C18/ early C19, encloses the garden on the south and west sides. On the south side is a delicate iron entrance gate, painted white, which has verticals surmounted with a leaf motif, and urn finials on the outer posts. The gate piers are square on plan and have raised flat-topped stone caps. Further to the west, a section of the south wall has been replaced with iron railings of the same design, flanked by brick buttresses of a later date.

History

The house bears a date stone of 1699 with the initials ‘TH’ which is thought to refer to the Hands family who lived there until the 1920s. The house would originally have had a lobby entrance plan incorporating an entrance lobby on the south frontage with back-to-back chimneys behind, and a room either side to the east and west. The ceiling of the east room bears evidence of the former location of the stair. The row of outbuildings to the rear is probably contemporary with this earliest phase. The house was then remodelled in the late C18 involving the repositioning of the stair in the former lobby entrance, the removal of the back-to-back chimneys, and the insertion of chimneys on the end gable walls. At this time or possibly in the early C19, the rear (north) wing was either built or rebuilt, linking the outbuildings to the house. The dentilled brick cornice, the rear entrance porch, and the front wall and gate were also added during this period. Further changes have taken place in the C20 including the construction of an extension on the east gable end in 1981 which involved the removal of the original east wall at ground-floor level to create a larger open-plan reception room. Some of the stone mullion windows have been replaced with timber casements, and the gable wall of the end outbuilding has been rebuilt in brick and a garage door inserted.

Reasons for Listing

The Cottage, dating to the late C17, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: it is a vernacular dwelling that has evolved over three centuries, retaining evidence from each successive phase. The development from the original lobby entrance plan in the late C18 is still legible, and a number of notable elements survive from the late C18/ early C19 phase, including bedroom fireplaces, six-panelled doors with HL hinges, the timber lattice-work porch, and the red brick garden walls with delicate iron gates;
* Intactness: it contains a significant proportion of its original fabric, including mullion windows and chamfered bridging beams, one of which has a lamb’s tongue stop.

External Links

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