Description

907/0/10031 CONISCLIFFE ROAD
19-FEB-10 (North side)
WOODBURN GARDENERS' COTTAGE
CONISCLIFFE ROAD
(North side)
296-298

II
Pair of semi-detached cottages 1873 by G. G Hoskins for Theodore Fry and Sophie Pease Fry.

MATERIALS: rusticated sandstone with ashlar dressings, slate roofs and cast iron finials.

PLAN: symmetrical pair of semi detached cottages facing south into the road; each cottage has 2 rooms on 2 floors (parlour and kitchen and 2 bedrooms) with a separate scullery and pantry to the rear of the ground floor and a separate bathroom to the rear of the first floor. The staircase is against the east wall of No. 298 and the west wall of No. 296.

EXTERIOR: Main (south) Elevation: 2 cross gables forming 2 bays and 2 storeys with a dentilled eaves cornice; roofs are half hipped, with a central valley and are surmounted by ornate cast iron finials. Each cottage has a tall lateral and an axial ridge chimney stack. Ground and first floor windows are mullioned and of 2 lights with relieving arches over composed of alternating ashlar and rusticated stone. All windows contain 2-pane horned sliding sashes. Paired entrance porches at the centre of the building are supported by diagonal buttresses and have chevron eaves cornices with hipped roofs above. Each porch retains an original boarded wooden door with ornate strap hinges and original door furniture. Rear (north) Elevation: 2 bays and 2 storeys with a single fixed pane window to the ground floor and paired narrow windows with horned 2-pane sashes. A modern extension attached to the west end of No. 298 is not of special interest.

INTERIOR: the interiors of each cottage preserve original historic features and these include a dog leg staircase with winder with octagonal, chamfered balusters and chamfered newel posts with cupboard below. Original gothic hall arches are retained with that to No. 296 having been modified. There are 4-panel doors throughout with chamfered mullions and rails; some doors in No. 296 have replacement glazed upper panels. Ground floor rooms have simple cornices and deep skirting boards and there are original fitted cupboards with chamfered mullions and rails. All fire surrounds to the ground floors are later additions with original segmental headed openings retained behind; one of these in the former kitchen of No. 298 is retained in its original state. The first floor rooms have simple cornices and deep skirtings and No. 298 retains one of its fitted cupboards, a C19 and a C20 cast iron fireplace while no 296 retains two C19 cast iron fireplaces.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: the cottages have walled yards attached to the rear, each with a range of out buildings attached to the inside of its north wall.

HISTORY: The cottages were designed and built by G. G Hoskins' architectural practice in 1873 for Theodore Fry (later Mayor and M.P. of the town 1850-1895) and his Quaker wife Sophie Pease Fry (granddaughter of Edward Pease, the noted woollen manufacturer and promoter of the pioneering Stockton to Darlington Railway). Members of the Fry family lived in Woodburn Mansion, formerly situated on the south side of Coniscliffe Road, also designed by Hoskins but demolished in 1935. The cottages were originally known as Woodburn Gardeners' Cottages and were set within an extensive garden plot. In the late C19 a room was added to each of the ground floor sculleries to provide a first floor bathroom and in the early 1980s a narrow two storey extension was added to the rear of the western cottage.

Gardens and gardening have an important role in the Quaker tradition and the construction of the cottages and their smallholding is thought to have been a Quaker philanthropic Horticultural project to provide local work. George G Hoskins was a prominent Darlington architect who designed a number of prestigious buildings in the town and the surrounding region and has six listed buildings to his name including the II* listed Middlesbrough Town Hall. He was elected a fellow of the RIBA in 1870 proposed by J. P Pritchett, T Oliver and J Ross. Hoskins had been clerk to Albert Waterhouse the renowned architect and Quaker who strongly influenced his building style.

SOURCES: N Pevsner The Buildings of England: County Durham 2nd edition 1983 p148-9;
L Chadd; original building plans and elevations held in Durham Record Office.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: This pair of cottages of 1873 is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* a well preserved example of high quality and well executed later C19 domestic architecture, forming a handsome composition with external detailing including decorative eaves cornices, chamfered stone mullioned windows and buttressed porches

* there is good survival of original internal features including 4-panel doors, fitted cupboards and a pair of bespoke staircases, all with well detailed joinery which echoes that of the external stonework

* as a Quaker horticultural venture, these cottages are an important survival in a town dominated by Quaker families who funded a large number of civic and public buildings

* they were designed by the regionally significant architect G G Hoskins, who trained under Waterhouse and executed a number of commissions for prominent Quaker families

Reasons for Listing

This pair of cottages of 1873 is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* a well preserved example of high quality and well executed later C19 domestic architecture

* a handsome composition with external detailing including decorative eaves cornices, chamfered stone mullioned windows and buttressed porches

* there is good survival of original internal features including doors, fitted cupboards and a pair of bespoke staircases, all with well detailed joinery which echoes that of the external stonework

* as a Quaker horticultural venture, these cottages are an important survival in a town dominated by Quaker families who funded a large number of civic and public buildings

* they were designed by the regionally significant architect G G Hoskins, who trained under Waterhouse and executed a number of commissions for prominent Quaker families

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26672856

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

• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Oxfordshire: North and West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Suffolk: East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings: The Law and Practice of Historic Buildings, Ancient Monuments and Conservation Areas
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings