Summary

A late C17 cottage, altered and extended in the C20.

Description

Material:
Limestone rubble with a thatched roof covering.

PLAN: Approximately 'L' shaped with single-storey extensions.

EXTERIOR: The cottage is one storey with an attic and has gabled roofs with brick ridge and end stacks. The principal elevation faces south (garden) and has C20 casement windows with wooden lintels, those to the first floor in eyebrow dormers. C20 casement windows flank a rear door on the ground floor and there is a late-C20 conservatory, of no historic interest, to the right. At the rear, north-east corner the full-height wing has been extended in the C20 with a single-storey addition. A small porch has been added to accommodate the main entrance. All of the windows are C20 casements.

INTERIOR: Axial bridging beams on the ground floor remain and are variably chamfered; two are co-joined by a scarf joint. The joists are mostly C20 and machine sawn, as is a single wall post supporting a bridging beam in the right-hand room where a large inglenook fireplace with a chamfered, cambered bressumer remains. A late-C20 spiral staircase leads to the first floor, where some sections of wall plate are apparent; broad tie beams survive, some constructed from re-used timbers and pegged. The principal rafters are substantial; the common rafters are generally hewn from tree branches and over-painted.

History

Orchard cottage is probably of late-C17 date. Historic map evidence suggests that in the late C19 and early C20, the building was sub-divided into three cottages, attested also by the rebuilt stacks; it is uncertain when it became a single dwelling. When the cottage was listed, a two-storey C20 extension at the rear and C20 fenestration was noted. Subsequent to the listing, further linking rear extensions have been constructed and a conservatory has been added to the garden (south) elevation. Late-C20 remodelling is apparent including internal reconfiguration, alteration of openings and insertion of doors.

Reasons for Listing

Orchard Cottage, Hartwell Road, Ashton, a vernacular cottage of the late C17, altered and extended in the C20, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architecture: The cottage retains a significant proportion of its original fabric including all of its external stone walling and roof structure and is representative of the vernacular building tradition in this region in the C17.
Intactness: Although alterations have occurred to the building since it was first listed these have not affected the historic fabric of the building unduly.
Interior: The interior survives well, notably the roof structure, the timber floor frames, inglenook fireplace and its bressumer.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26292722

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

• 
  Staffordshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Harrow on the Hill: A photographic portrayal of listed buildings and structures (Historic Buildings Picture Guides)
• 
  The Shredded Chef: 120 Recipes for Building Muscle, Getting Lean, and Staying Healthy
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  Devon (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)