Forge Cottage, Bilsdale Midcable, North Yorkshire

Description

BILSDALE MIDCABLE

1324/0/10005 B1257
28-APR-06 CHOP GATE
Forge Cottage

II
Cottage with adjoining blacksmiths forge and outbuildings, C17/18 with C18 and C19 modifications, forge dated 1826. Two storey cottage in coursed squared sandstone with attached single storey outbuildings and blacksmith's forge, under pantile roofs. Ridge end stacks at each end of the two storey house, and outer end of forge.

PLAN: cross passage, modified longhouse plan, with entry into cross passage, door to forehouse to the right beyond inglenook fireplace, parlour beyond, former byre to left of cross passage, now with separate entry. Gabled outshut to rear.

ELEVATION: two windows to each floor, first floor has 3-over-3 unhorned vertical sashes, ground floor left hand has a 3-light sliding sash, right hand has a wooden framed casement. Stone lintels and cills. Fire window to left on ground floor. Entrance to left in single storey part, with former cow byre, now coal house, to left. Raised gable ends and prominent kneelers. Single storey former cow byre with plank half-door, raised gable at left end (away from house). To right, single storey outhouse with wooden double doors and 2 half doors. To left, blacksmith's forge, lower than cow byre, central half door with shuttered window to either side, date stone on lintel of door reads 1826 with initials W ? and a carved horseshoe. Horse and ox shoes nailed to door.

Rear elevation: pitch roof single storey extension, wooden double doors in gable end and single door in outshut to left, extended to right with added conservatory, C20 door and windows at side. One ground floor sliding sash window to house, 2 first floor sliding sashes and one 2-over-2 vertical sash. Rear door to the former byre, and shuttered window to the forge.

INTERIOR: Entrance through cross passage, door to right into 'forehouse', with screen wall to inglenook fireplace to the right. Bressumer beam with chamfers and stops on both sides of screen wall. Chimney breast with C19 range and C20 grate, panel doors to wall cupboard to left, and fire window to the side. Walls partly half panelled with tongue and groove. Plank doors to parlour, pantry and under-stair cupboard, cupboard door with L-shaped hinges. Parlour has a C20 fireplace. Pantry with sliding sash window and ceiling hooks. Door from forehouse to kitchen at rear with C20 casements and door to the side. Staircase runs behind wall at rear of forehouse. First floor has 3 bedrooms and bathroom, all with exposed roof timbers. Tie beams and lower part of the principal rafters of 2 trusses are exposed, and the purlins running between. Roof space not accessible.

Outbuildings not accessed.

Blacksmith's forge building interior has remains of the hearth and stone chimney inside the end wall, partly in ruins. Bellows to left with pipe into side of fireplace. Some evidence of blocked doors/windows. Open to roof with 2 trusses and slats lining the roof visible.

HISTORY: the house and former byre probably have their origins in the late C17 - early C18, at which time both would have been single storey and the cross passage would give access to the byre as well as the 2-cell house. From the evidence of the windows and kneelers, the house part was raised in the later C18 to provide 2 full storeys. The byre has a raised gable which may indicate a former thatched roof. The outbuilding to the other end, formerly a pigsty, was added later, as was the forge in 1826. The kitchen extension was adapted from part of a further outbuilding to the rear, in the mid C20: this may have been a dairy. The first floor of the house has had a bathroom inserted in the C20 and the fireplace in the parlour is of a similar date.
The blacksmith's operated into the C20. From post-1918 to the 1930s the house was used as a post office, and again in the 1970s and 1980s.

SUBSIDIARY ITEMS: the village pump stood adjacent to the forge until c.10-20 years ago, when it was moved a few metres to the grounds of the public house next door. It consists of an iron pump with spout and top handle, and a stone trough. A stone support at the back of the pump was left in situ and lies on the ground.
A Post Office letter box is attached to a wooden post in front of the former cow byre.

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE
Forge Cottage and its associated outbuildings including a blacksmith's forge are clearly earlier than the 1840 date before which all buildings must be serious candidates for consideration. As vernacular buildings, they need to display evidence of their historic plan form, construction, fabric and detail, and have a good level of intactness. The cottage retains good survival of its original cross-passage plan form, and has been less altered than many such buildings in that the former cow byre to one side of the passage has not been converted for domestic use and remains single storey. The inglenook fireplace in the main room retains essential features including bressumer and fire window, and windows and roof are essentially unchanged from the early nineteenth century. The 1826 blacksmith's forge adds extra interest, and the associated village pump and the former use of the cottage as a post office confirm the importance of the setting of the group.

External Links

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British Listed Buildings

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Forge Cottage

A Grade II Listed Building in Bilsdale Midcable, North Yorkshire

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