Description

KELMSCOTT
SU2499-2599, SU29NE
10/81, 5/81 Nos. 1 and 4, Manor Cottages
GV II*

Pair of cottages. Dated 1914 by Ernest Gimson for May Morris in memory of her
mother, Jane, wife of William Morris. Roughly coursed limestone rubble with
alternating angle quoins; stone slate roof. L-plan with projecting gabled range
to right; Vernacular Revival style. One storey and attic. Flat-faced leaded
mullioned windows throughout except for single-light rectangular window to left
return of projecting range on ground floor and smaller window directly below
eaves to left, one or 3 lights to left of main range and one of 2 lights to
right. Roughly central gabled full dormer has 2-light mullion with narrow
rectangular slit to apex. Projecting gable has 4-light mullion window to ground
floor with 3-light mullion above; narrow rectangular slit to apex. Slate-hung
gabled dormer in bottom of roof slope to left return. Entrance below full dormer
to main range; plank door with strap hinges beneath low-pedimented stone hood.
Similar entrance to right return of projecting range with angled flat stone hood
between wall and extruded external stack, which has dripstone, moulded capping
and datestone inscribed "JM/BUILT BY/MM/1914". Leaded window below hood and
casement to right of entrance, which has gabled dormer in bottom of roof slope
directly above. Integral end stack to left of main range and ridge stack to
right, both with dripstones and moulded capping. Rear has several mullioned
windows and 2 slate-hung gabled dormers in bottom of roof slope to main range;
sloping buttress between. Low gabled outbuilding at right-angles to main range
on right. Interior. No.1 (right cottage) has plain cross beam and square joists
to front room. Semi-winder oak staircase with sweeping ramped dado; plain
handrail on first floor with chamfered flat balusters. Elm floor boards to first
floor and nail-studded plank doors throughout, some with possibly reused pointed
strap hinges. No.4 has exposed flat joists to right ground-floor room. Plank
doors similar to those in No.1 including one in central hall leading to
semi-winder staircase, again similar in details to that in No.4. Graded II* as a
complete and largely unaltered example of a pair of farmworkers' cottages built
in memory of Jane, widow of William Morris, who lived at Kelmscott Manor (q.v.).
(Buildings of England: Oxfordshire, p667; A.R. Dufty: Kelmscott, An Illustrated
Guide (London, The Society of Antiquaries, 1984), p30)
[2376]

Listing NGR: SU2501298998

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q17532089

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

• 
  England's Post-War Listed Buildings
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Huddersfield in 50 Buildings
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]