Description

578-1/0/10009

CIRENCESTER
QUERNS LANE (Southeast side)
1

15-SEP-10

GV
II*
A house and part of a warehouse, now offices, comprising one bay of the adjacent C17 house, together with a bay of the 1850s, and a two-bay section of the building whose remainder is 3 Querns Lane, a warehouse dating from the early C19. The C17 bay is of more than special interest; the remainder of the address is of lesser interest, though still of special interest.

MATERIALS: the building is constructed from squared and coursed limestone for the C17 bay, rendered limestone rubble for the 1850s section, and coursed limestone with dressed limestone quoins for the warehouse section, with limestone stacks. All sections have Cotswold stone slate roofs.

PLAN: the buildings have a complex plan due to their corner site and piecemeal construction. A rear extension to 1 Querns Lane partly oversails the adjacent property at 3 Querns Lane (qv).

EXTERIOR: The C17 bay is of two storeys and attic; the north side to Querns Lane has one nine-pane fixed-light window in a plain reveal with exposed timber lintel and stone cill to the ground floor, one blocked window to the first floor, and a two-light ovolo-moulded stone mullion window in gable, matching the main elevation. The circa 1850 section is lower, of two storeys with a plain pitched roof and low parapet. There is a round-arched doorway to the left, and tripartite timber sash windows to the ground and first floors, with six-over-six sashes flanked by two-over-two sashes. The two-bay warehouse section has two storeys and attic, with higher floor levels than the neighbouring section. The windows are multi-paned, timber casements, the eastern bay having three-light windows and the western, two-lights. The attic has raking half-dormers. To the rear, the warehouse section has some round windows, and both the C19 infill block and the warehouse section have fairly substantial C20 extensions.

INTERIOR: the ground and first floor rooms in the C17 block have mid-C19 fireplaces and joinery. The central bay, dating to the 1850s, has a contemporary open-string stair with bracketed detail rising from the ground to the first floor in the front hallway, which has a round-arched niche and an Edwardian fretwork alcove. A curved corridor clad in matchboard cuts across part of the warehouse bay to give access to the rear extension. The first floor has a similar layout. The landing, above the hall, has an octagonal glazed lantern with coloured and etched glass. The warehouse bay has exposed chamfered beams and retains a C19 range in one of the ground floor rooms. The attic storey of the C17 bay has a complex roof structure which is a continuation from the adjacent building.

SOURCES: Verey D, Buildings of England: Gloucestershire I - The Cotswolds (1970) 182

HISTORY: 1 Querns Lane incorporates the northernmost bay of Chesterton Manor, which appears to have originated in the early C17; there is some archaeological evidence of an earlier manor on the site, though this is not clearly evident in the current fabric. Alterations were made in the later C17, and again in the C18, though much of the house as it stands today represents the C17 phases. The house was a four-bay structure running north-south along Watermoor Road, with its northern bay occupying the corner with the road which is now Querns Lane. During the early C19, a warehouse, owned by the local Bowly family and in use as a cheese warehouse, was built along Querns Lane, a short distance from the northern bay of Chesterton Manor. A map of the 1840s shows both buildings in situ, with a gap where a linking building, which now forms a part of 1 Querns Lane, would be constructed in the 1850s. The Ordnance Survey map series shows that the bay now forming part of 1 Querns Lane may have been separate from the main house from as far back as 1875, though it is also shown as a separate unit from the 1850s infill block which forms part of 1 Querns Lane. The two buildings were formally divided in 2003. 1 Querns Lane now also incorporates most of the two easternmost bays of the adjacent warehouse, the remainder of which is known as 3 Querns Lane, in a complex arrangement involving a flying freehold in favour of 3 Querns Lane.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: 1 Querns Lane, a house (now offices) incorporating parts of buildings from the C17, early C19 and circa 1850, is designated at Grade II*, for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the address incorporates the northernmost bay of the former Chesterton Manor, now 2 Watermoor Road, a house of the C17 and possibly earlier, whose fabric is of more than special interest, and which is listed at Grade II*; this part of 1 Querns Lane is also of more than special interest
* Relative architectural interest: the remainder of the building, though still of special interest, is of lesser interest than the C17 portion
* Interior: the building retains good quality interior features of the C19
* Historic interest: the 1850s house appears to have been built as accommodation for the manager of the adjacent cheese warehouse, at 3 Querns Lane, parts of which are now also incorporated into 1 Querns Lane
* Group value: with 2 Watermoor Road and 3 Querns Lane, with which it also shares fabric in common

Reasons for Listing

1 Querns Lane, a house (now offices) incorporating parts of buildings from the C17, early C19 and circa 1850, is designated at Grade II*, for the following principal reasons:
* Legal: advice obtained from DCMS legal officers during a review of the earlier amendment concluded that it was not possible for a single address to be divided between more than one list entry, even where it is formed from historically-distinct buildings, as is the case with 1 Querns Lane
* Architectural interest: the address incorporates the northernmost bay of the former Chesterton Manor, now 2 Watermoor Road, a house of the C17 and possibly earlier, whose fabric is of more than special interest, and which is listed at Grade II*; this part of 1 Querns Lane is also of more than special interest
* Relative architectural interest: the remainder of the building, though still of special interest, is of lesser interest than the C17 portion
* Interior: the building retains good quality interior features of the C19
* Historic interest: the 1850s house appears to have been built as accommodation for the manager of the adjacent cheese warehouse, at 3 Querns Lane, parts of which are now also incorporated into 1 Querns Lane
* Group value: with 2 Watermoor Road and 3 Querns Lane, with which also it shares fabric in common

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17537286

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

• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
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  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Setting up a Listed Building Heritage Partnership Agreement: Historic England Advice Note 5