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Summary

Grade II listed 16th century timber framed house with 17th century to Late 20th century alterations

Associated Legal Designations or Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1212967: PARADISE COTTAGE

Monument Type(s):

• TIMBER FRAMED HOUSE (Elizabethan - 1567 AD to 1600 AD)
• HOUSE (17th century to Late 20th century - 1601 AD to 2000 AD)

Full Description

The majority of this late 16th century and 17th century timber framed house <1> is two storeys in height with three storeys at its westernmost end and one storey at its eastern end <2>. It has a tiled roof, and appears to have had several phases of development as well as 20th and 21st century additions.

The building, named Paradise, is shown with at least three internal divisions on the Epoch 1 OS map of 1877-80 <3>. What appear to be several small outbuildings are within its curtilage to its west and north-east. On the Epoch 2 OS map of 1899, the front of the building, on its north side, appears further divided from the rest of the house, so the whole dwelling is in four parts <4>. The outbuildings are no longer present, but a well is marked at the front of the property, at its east end. On the Epoch 3 OS map of 1912, the northern subdivision has been further split into two <5>. The well is still present and one outbuilding has been constructed to the north-west. By the Epoch 5 OS map of 1970, the building's subdivisions appear to have been removed and it is named Paradise Cottage <6>. The well is no longer marked and the outbuilding to the north-west is no longer present. The curtilage of the building has been extended to the north and another, bigger outbuilding has been built there.

A description of the building in 1909 <7> describes it as originally being a farmhouse 'built in the most odd and irregular manner…now divided into three or four cottages'. The three storey western end, where the owner at the time and his wife lived, was described as unusual for 'this part of the county'. An unspecified part of the building was thatched. Outbuildings are described as having once surrounded it, but 'fallen into decay and been removed'.

Another source further recalls the building's previous subdivisions, referring to it as 'the Paradise Cottages, now converted to one home' <8>.

A planning application in the late 1970s (78/08829/ADD) was granted for a kitchen extension, which was further extended in the 1980s (84/22817/LBC) by rebuilding the cottage's existing store at its eastern end. Construction of a new bathroom was permitted in the early 21st century (04/00263/LBC) in the western part of the cottage, secondary double glazing was added (10/02499/LBC2) and repairs made to some of the timbers, brick plinths and plasterwork because of damp (12/00173/LBC2).

Sources and further reading

Related Monuments

Associated Excavations and Fieldwork

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