Description

LITTLE HOUGHTON MEADOW LANE
SP8059 (East side)
11/151 No.4

GV II

Cottage, formerly summerhouse. Dated 1685, altered C19. Ironstone ashlar and
coursed ironstone rubble, C20 plain-tile roof, brick end stack. 1-unit plan. 2
storeys and attic; 1-window range. Main front faces walled garden to rear is
ashlar-faced and has central blocked door with eared and moulded stone surround.
Large inscription panel above of red sandstone with moulded stone sill and
bolection-moulded stone surround. Inscription, now worn, reads "A DEO SUNT
REGES/CONSILIA PRODITORUM INANIA; DUM GEMIT AD BELGAS PERITURIS/ABSOLOM
ARMIS/HANC STUDIO PACISQUE DEO/SACRAVIMUS ARCEM/PRID.IDUUM JULII MDCLXXV/M/TW".
Upright keyed oval windows flank door, that to left blank. Inscription panel
flanked by similar niches rendered inside; rendering to right niche incised with
eared urn. Wave-moulded plinth, chamfered quoins and stone-coped gable. Present
entrance to left at basement level. Elevation facing road has one 2-light
casement window to basement (ground flor on road side) 1st and attic floors.
Gable on this side rebuilt in red brick. The cottage was built as a summerhouse
or gazebo to walled garden of the seat of the Wards, demolished 1777. The
inscription refers to Dryden's poem 'Absolom and Achitophel' published in 1681.
Absolom of the poem and inscription is the Duke of Hannouth. The initials are
those of Thomas and Mary Ward.

Listing NGR: SP8035159695

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26652454

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

• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  The Listed Buildings and Other Principal Structures at the Royal Gunpowder Mills Waltham Abbey
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)