Description

ASHURST

957/0/10069 B2135
22-JUN-09 Horsebridge Common
Bergen-op-Zoom cottage

II
Cottage. Late C17 or early C18, refenestrated in C19 and C20, and with C20 outbuilding to west.

MATERIALS: Mainly timber-framed except for the south front which is tile-hung over brick, the east side timber-frame has been weatherboarded over a brick base, the west wall has been rendered over the front and clad in brick to the rear and the north outshot has a brick wall. Pegtiled roof, hipped to the east, gabled to the west and with catslide to the rear and external brick chimneystack with English bond brickwork to the west. A smaller external chimneystack in the outshot is C20.

PLAN: A two-bay end-chimneystack cottage with two unequal-sized bays, staircase at the north eastern end and rear outshot.

EXTERIOR: The south front has two irregularly-spaced C20 metal-framed casements and no doorcase survives on this side. The north side has two C19 wooden casements and an early C20 plank door.

INTERIOR: Access is currently through the rear outshot into the kitchen which has a built-in early C20 wooden dresser and 1950s fittings. There is a small bathroom at the eastern end of the outshot. The western ground floor room is the larger heated room. It contains a large open fireplace with chamfered wooden bressumer with run-out stops and added plateshelf. The brickwork behind has been renewed but on the north side is a domed brick breadoven. The ceiling beams are rough hewn and of thin scantling, with a pronounced list to the west, and there is an original internal partition with a plank door leading into the eastern room. This has similar ceiling beams but is unheated and has a plank door with pintle hinges to a cupboard space under the stairs. The staircase at the north east end has an original timber framed partition with wide boards. On the upper floor the frame is visible on the north, east and west sides. The wallplate is visible on the south wall. An original partition divides the two rooms with jowled posts and angled queen struts. There are three plank doors. The upper part of the outshot has rough beams, purlin, angled queen struts and some wide floorboards.

HISTORY: From its position on the edge of Horsebridge Common this cottage apppers to be a commons encroachment. The earliest known document describing this cottage is dated 1732, signed and sealed by the Duke of Norfolk, indicating that it was owned by the Norfolk estate at that time. The cottage is shown on the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1875 with a long and narrow outbuilding attached at the west. This profile remained unchanged on the 1897 map. On the 1911 Ordnance Survey map the property is identified by its current name. One explanation of the unusual name is the cottage's occupation during the mid C19 by a Dutch engineer involved in improving the navigation and wharfage on the nearby River Adur, who named it after his home town. An alternative theory is that it could have been named after a battle in which an occupant of the cottage took part. The first battle of Bergen-op-Zoom took place during the French Revolutionary Wars on the 19th September 1799 when the French won, closely followed by the second battle on 2nd October 1799 when the British and Russians were the victors. The current outbuilding to the west replaced an earlier outbuilding and is of C20 date. The building had remained in the same ownership since the 1950s up to the date of inspection in 2008.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Bergen-Op-Zoom Cottage is designated at Grade II for the following reasons:
* The plan form of two-bay end-chimneystack cottage with unequal sized rooms and rear outshot is intact.
* It is a good example of a common encroachment cottage.
* A significant amount of original fabric survives, including timber-frame with midrail and curved braces to the north , east and west walls, internal partitions and original brickwork to the chimneystack.
* The exterior is substantially intact, apart from the replacement of windows and the blocking of the doorcase on the south side. The interior is unusually unchanged with open fireplace still retaining its breadoven and a series of plank doors.

Reasons for Listing

Bergen-op-Zoom Cottage is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* This late C17 or early C18 cottage retains its original plan form of two-bay end-chimneystack with unequal sized rooms and rear outshot.
* A significant amount of original fabric survives, including timber framing with midrail and curved braces to the north east and west walls, an internal partition on both floors and to the wooden staircase, and original brickwork to the chimneystack.
* The interior retains a number of plank doors and an open fireplace which, unusually, retains the breadoven.
* It survives substantially intact apart, from the replacement of windows in the C19 and C20 and the blocking of the doorcase in the south side.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672505

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

• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  London 1: The City of London: City of London v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Wiltshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)