Description

SWINBROOK AND WIDFORD

1292/0/10006 SWINBROOK
05-JAN-11 Swinbrook Place

II
Pair of substantial, mid- to later C19 cottages in vernacular revival tradition, altered at the rear in the late C19 and repaired and altered in the mid- to later C20. The cottages, formerly known as Church View and Stocks Hill Cottage, are now treated as one dwelling, known as Swinbrook Place.

MATERIALS: coursed Cotswold limestone rubble with freestone dressings and with slate roofs.

PLAN: a symmetrical pair of one and half storey cottages, laid out on an H-plan, comprising gabled wings either side of a central range. Entrances, in the main, west elevation are set into the inner angle of the main range, either side of a central window which internally is bisected by the party wall. Large stacks with square bases and diagonally-set square shafts are set at the angle of the main range and cross wings, mid-way along the ridge of each gabled wing. An outshut, probably single storey, was inserted at the rear of the cottages in the late C19 and was incorporated in a 1960s two-storey addition. This 1960s upper floor addition to the east, which cuts into the inner slopes of the rear gable roofs, and 1960s single-storey rear extensions are not of special interest.

EXTERIOR: Entrances in the main, west elevation have chamfered and moulded doorways with steeply arched heads; the current front doors, which are mid- to later C20 and have glazed upper panels, are set into the original outer arches of formerly open porches, in chamfered timber architraves. Window openings and mullions are also chamfered, some are repaired. In the centre is a four-light mullion window. Above is a pair of gabled half dormers, each with a two-light mullion window. West and east gables have a single two-light mullion to each floor. North and south elevations have a pair of similar ground-floor windows. The E gable walls are similar to the W but the ground-floor windows have been replaced, replicating the original windows. Original cast iron windows have fixed frames with lozenge lights of which a small opening central section of four lights is pivot-hung. Later windows, replaced in the mid-C20, are metal-framed casements with lozenge leaded lights.

INTERIOR: N half (formerly Stocks Hill Cottage). The porch gives onto the west-facing ground floor room of the gabled bay. Winder stairs rise from a rear hall behind the porch. Walls between the ground-floor rooms are removed, leaving a narrow passage either side of the stack. The rear entrance, which is now internal, has a cambered arched head. Ground-floor fireplaces have C20 timber mantelshelves; the west-facing surround is incised. On the first floor is a small cast iron grate with a moulded arched head. Upper floor plank doors have vernacular revival strap hinges. The ground floor and porch have stone flag floors. Each cottage has a narrow, central, unheated ground floor room separated by an internal partition which bisects the west-facing four-light window.

S half (formerly Church View). Originally of an identical layout but where the porch has been removed internally, and the stair replaced and reversed, altering the plan on both floors. The former rear entrance and adjacent blocked window have cambered arched heads. Ground-floor fireplaces have been opened up and also have C20 timber mantelshelves; the west-facing surround is incised. On the first floor there is a small cast iron grate with a scalloped head. Plank doors, mostly later C20, have vernacular revival strap hinges.

HISTORY: Swinbrook Place was built as a pair of cottages, until recently known as Church View (S) and Stocks Hill Cottage (N). The cottages sit below the church in the picturesque centre of the village, where, because of their scale and architectural treatment, they evoke the character of a manor house rather than a pair of cottages and, as Pevsner notes, are part of a group of cottages and houses in Tudor style in the village. The cottages are marked on Ordnance Survey maps from 1881 to 1921 in their original H-plan configuration, with detached outbuildings to the rear. Between 1881 and 1899 the rear was infilled, probably with a single-storey outshut and stack, which form the base of the 1960s addition. The easternmost of the outbuildings, a single-storey detached stone building with a pitched roof, with entrances on the W and S, and presumed to be an earth closet, has the remains of an enclosed paved area on the east side, and may also have been a pigsty.

SOURCES
J Sherwood & N Pevsner, Buildings of England: Oxfordshire (1974), 799

Packer photographic collection, d2611928a, d2611887a, d2611873a, www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/oxfordshirestudies,accessed 22 Nov 2010

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION
Swinbrook Place (formerly known as Church View and Stocks Hill Cottage) and now treated as a single dwelling, is a mid-C19 pair of semi-detached cottages which are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: for its well-observed vernacular revival composition and use of materials, in response to a picturesque, historic setting;
* Craftsmanship: good quality stonework in the local tradition;
* Intactness: the main elevations, complete with a series of unusual cast iron windows are little-altered but the interiors have undergone change.

Reasons for Listing

Listable at Grade II.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26675181

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

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Northumberland (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)