Description

HUSBORNE CRAWLEY TURNPIKE ROAD
SP 9535
12/37 Nos 20 to 22 (consecutive)
and detached outhouses to
22.1.86 rear.

GV II

Row of Bedford Estate cottages erected by the 7th Duke. Dated l852. Red brick
laid in rat-trap bond. C20 tile roofs. One storey and attics. Originally
formed a symmetrical block with No. 19, but no. 19 excluded from listing due
to alterations, and extensions. Nos 20 to 22 have 3-bay facade, RH bay
gabled, 2 LH bays with gablets. Ground floor has 2 2-light windows and one 3-
light window, attic has 3 2-light windows. All are cast iron lattice
casements. Nos 20 and 21 have paired doorways surmounted by gabled hoods with
curved brackets and drop finials. Red brick multiple ridge stacks.

The 7th Duke of Bedford recognised the advantages of housing agricltural
labourers in comfortable dwellings. From the late 1840's onwards the emphasis
in Bedford Estate cottage building was on the utilitarian rather than the
Picturesque. The cottages are not only remarkable for the high quality of
construction at such an early date, but also represent an influential
contribution to the development of working class housing which culminated in
the garden cities and early council housing. The Dukes of Bedford built about
500 cottages in the locality between the 1840's and World War I. This block
typifies the plain but substantial dwellings of the earliest phase in this
building programme, and is similar to design no. 5 in the 7th Duke's Plans and
Elevations. The brickwork seems to be an early type of cavity walling (cf.
note by Charles Hacker in above work). This block is part of an important
linear grouping of estate cottages along a road which forms part of the
boundary of Woburn Park and is included for group value.

The (7th) Duke of Bedford:Plans and Elevations of Cottages for Agricultural
Labourers, London, 1850 (reprint of letter and plans sent 1849 to the Earl of
Chichester, President of the Royal Agricultural Society); The (11th) Duke of
Bedford: A Great Agricultural Estate, being the Story of the Origin and
Administration of Woburn and Thorney , London, 1897; Rev C.H. Hartshorne: The
System of building Labourers' Cottages pursued on the estates of His Grace the
Duke of Bedford n.d. but probably 1849.

Listing NGR: SP9577035290

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26607530

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

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Cambridgeshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Period Property Manual (New Ed)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)