History

Shown on the 1838 Tithe Map, the cottage is likely to have been built as part of a smallholding created after 1814: the Enclosure Award of that year, following the Enclosure Act promoted by Thomas Assheton Smith the first (1752-1828) in 1806-08, allotted to the Vaynol Estate most of the mountain common close to his Dinorwic Slate Quarry. These holdings were typically of between 3 and 10 acres (1.2 and 4ha), characterised by the regular pattern of their field boundaries and enabled the quarrymen and their families to supplement their paid income by engaging in subsistence agriculture. While the plots were laid out by the Estate, the quarrymen themselves were responsible for building the cottages; the enclosure process was initially contested by existing squatters on the common, including several quarrymen and their wives during the 'riot' of 1809.

Exterior

Single-storey 2-room cottage, aligned roughly north-east to south-west with taller gabled barn, attached by single-storey link section, projecting to north-west. Roughly coursed rubblestone, lime plastered to cottage and link; slate roofs. Cottage has windows on either side of boarded door offset to right, left with joinery missing, right with damaged 4-paned sash; integral end stacks with slate drips, left heightened in red brick, right incorporated in link section. This has a lateral stack to front wall on left and 4-paned sash to right in angle with rubblestone hay barn, which has square opening in upper part of front gable, blank left return wall and lean-to addition on right. In poor condition at time of Survey.

Interior

Interior not accessible at time of Survey.

Reasons for Listing

Included, notwithstanding its poor condition, as an essentially well-preserved and largely unaltered early C19 quarryman's cottage typical of the type authorised by Thomas Assheton Smith as part of his development of the Dinorwic Slate Quarry after c1814. The cottage forms part of a group of these buildings on the moorland edge near Dinorwic, a classic illustration of the way in which this major landowner sought to control the process of settlement associated with the exploitation of the Dinorwic quarries and encourage the development of marginal land.

External Links

• Cadwr Listing
• Wikidata Q29499827

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

• 
  Worcestershire Revised Edition (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects - Includes Relevant ... ... Properties (Haynes Manual) (Haynes Manuals)
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings