Building record MDO47045 - April Cottage, Meadow Lane, Burton, Christchurch

This is a detached house which on stylistic grounds and from the evidence of the fabric, the house was built in the early 19th century. It sits in a large garden plot, formerly in a rural area, but is now largely surrounded by 20th century housing. It is a one and a half storey building of two bays with accretions in the form of single-storey additions at the north west and north east corners. It is of cob construction which has a whitewashed roughcast render. The roof is hipped and thatched (undergoing re-thatching in October 2009) with brick end chimneystacks. Most of the windows are late-20th century replacements, although there are two single-light windows of early-19th century date to the first floor.

April Cottage is located on the western side of Burton, a linear settlement. On stylistic grounds and from the evidence of the fabric, the cottage was built in the early 19th century. It sits in a large garden plot, formerly in a rural area, but is now largely surrounded by 20th century housing. The First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1888 depicts the cottage as having a T-shaped plan, but subsequent additions at the north west and north east corners of the building have altered this footprint.

This is a detached cottage that occupies a large plot of land. It is a one and a half storey building of two bays with accretions in the form of single-storey additions at the north west and north east corners. April Cottage is of cob construction which has a whitewashed roughcast render. The roof is hipped and thatched (undergoing re-thatching in October 2009) with brick end chimneystacks. Most of the windows are late-20th century replacements, although there are two single-light windows of early-19th century date to the first floor.

EXTERIOR: The principal elevation faces south, overlooking the garden. It is a symmetrical composition with a central entrance porch that has a 20th century timber door. This is flanked by two-light casement windows with leaded lights. To the upper floor are two further windows. The rear elevation has single storey lean-tos to either side of the projecting bay, though that to the right hand side (west) has been further extended with an additional single storey extension.

INTERIOR: The cottage appears to have originally been a two-up, two-down with rooms to either side of the central entrance doorway; there is a further room to both floors in the projecting rear bay. The ground floor principal rooms retain simple open hearths which have been stripped back to the brickwork. Except for several plank and batten doors, much of the joinery including most doors, architrave and skirting date from the mid-20th century or later. The building was undergoing refurbishment at the time of inspection (October 2009) and the first floor room divisions have been removed and all the roof carpentry has been replaced.

The Revised Principles of Selection for Listing Buildings (March 2007) state that, for buildings dating from after 1840, because of the greatly increased number of buildings erected and the much larger numbers that have survived, progressively greater selection is necessary. Relevant factors for domestic buildings of this date include intactness, rarity, and architectural interest. April Cottage is a modest cottage dating from the early-19th century, and is of a relatively common type. Buildings considered for designation must be assessed in the national context, unless their form is peculiar to an area and reflects an important aspect of its vernacular building traditions. Externally, April Cottage retains its vernacular appearance, but it is fairly typical of many buildings of this date which were built of local materials to simple designs. The cottage, though pleasant, does not demonstrate any significant architectural interest: the simplicity of the form is reflected in the exterior, which is completely unembellished. In addition to its essential modesty, the building has evidently undergone alterations which have had an impact on its claims to intactness. It is apparent that it was refurbished in the mid-20th century which resulted in the replacement of many historic fittings, including most of the windows and much of the internal joinery. At about the same time it appears that the cottage was extended with a large single storey addition to the north west. The building is also currently (October 2009) undergoing further refurbishment which has included the replacement of all the roof carpentry. At the time of the inspection (October 2009) the room partitions to the first floor had been removed, temporarily creating a large open-plan area.

It is clear that April Cottage contributes to the character of the area and provides evidence for local vernacular traditions; reflected in its inclusion on the local authority's list of locally important buildings. However, whilst its local interest cannot be denied, the internal refurbishment in both the mid-20th century and early-21st century have resulted in the loss of fixtures and fittings, impacting on the building's special interest in the national context. Simple vernacular buildings of this type and date would need to be more intact to warrant listing. On balance, this is not the case here and April Cottage falls short of the standard required. <1>

<1> English Heritage, English Heritage Listing File, Adviser's report on case 168889, in file 507445/001 (Scheduling record). SDO17502.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1514404 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Aug 21 2023 4:18PM