Description

1896/0/10037

BETCHWORTH
THE STREET
Manor Cottage

27-FEB-08

II
House. The front range has been dated to a felling date of 1588-89 by dendrochronology. A rear outshot was added in the C17, the first floor ceiling height was raised in the late C18 and in the late C19 the windows were altered and a porch added. The building underwent restoration in 2007.

MATERIALS: The main range is timberframed with brick infill, part of which is now covered in lime render. The outshot is of brick in flemish bond. Hipped renewed tiled roof with brick chimneystacks; a ribbed off central four flue original chimneystack and two C19 chimneystacks added at the north east end.

PLAN: The main range is a four bay, two-storey and attics lobby entry house with off central chimneystack with stairs behind. A rear outshot was added and the south part raised to form a two storey wing. The first floor storey height of the two original bays to the north was later raised.

EXTERIOR: The north-west or street front has exposed small panel timber framing with brick infill, part covered in lime render. There is an off central hipped C19 dormer with tripartite window and wooden bargeboards. To the south-west is a late C19 two-storey four-light canted bay. The ground floor has a north-west tripartite casement and there is a large off central late C19 gabled porch with eclectic framing to the gable, glazing and C20 glazed door. The north-east side has timberframing with painted brick infill exposed each side of the central external chimneystack. Clasping the base of the chimneystack are two C19 bay windows with hipped tiled roofs. The south-west elevation has a catslide roof with C19 flemish bond brown brick walls. There is a gabled dormer and two tile-hung hipped gables. The remainder of the south-east side and the whole of the south-west side are obscured by the adjoining properties, which are not included in this listing.

INTERIOR: The front range has three rooms to each floor. The north-west ground floor room retains the beam to the original internal partition, but this wall was later re-positioned further south, and exposed floor joists which were at one time plastered, retaining nail holes and marks of wet plaster. At one time there was additional ladder access to the upper floor in the north-west corner. The central room has a spine beam with one-and-a-half-inch chamfer and square section floor joists, plastered at one time. The brick open fireplace has a late C18 moulded timber mantelpiece and alcove wooden seat on one side. The south-west end room has a wider open fireplace with wooden bressumer with one-and-a-half-inch chamfer, a wooden seat and an alcove in which were found a selection of personal objects deposited in the late C18 to prevent evil entering the house down the chimney. The brickwork of the rear wall of the fireplace retains two fixing points for a fire crane. The outshot has traces of a wallplate and an upright post. A C19 staircase with stick balusters and a chamfered newelpost is situated in the original position behind the central chimneystack. The north-east bedroom has a tie beam and part of a midrail with curved braces exposed in the end wall. There is a C19 moulded wooden fireplace. The ceiling has been heightened. The corridor has some late C18 softwood panelling with a dado rail, a two panel door and an interrupted wallplate. The central bedroom has a tie beam visible with a heightened spine beam with one-and-a-half-inch chamfer and lambs tongue stop. The south-west room has a late C16 fireplace with wooden bressumer. Some ceiling joists are visible but were formerly covered in lath and plaster and there is a lath and plaster partition to one side of the fireplace. A section of the rear wall is visible with curved brace and midrail. The attics have a south-west wall with queenposts, purlins and diagonal braces. The top of the central chimneystack is visible and internal partitions survive. The north-east end room has a plank door, tie beam, purlins with diagonal braces and old floorboards.

HISTORY: The main range has been recently dated by dendro-chronology to a felling date of 1588-89. In 1634 the house was part of the manor of East Betchworth and is shown on a map of that date together with a barn which stood to the north. At that date Alse (Alice) Lucas held the copyhold. In the 1662 Hearth Returns this was one of three properties out of 56 in Betchworth which had four hearths and only five had more hearths. The apotropaic offering (to ward off evil influence or ill luck) discovered in the southern inglenook is thought to date from the late C18. By the time of the Tithe Map of 1843 the house had been divided into two, one on each side of the fireplace, and this explains the added trimmers for a staircase to the north-west corner. Census returns provide the names of the owners. The northern part was occupied by a William Batchelor from 1843-1871, and a succession of members of the Dod family lived in the southern part from 1841 to the 1860s but by 1871 it was lived in by a gardener named George Poplett. By the 1880s the house was called "The Meadows". It was refurbished in the late C19 and incorporated into a larger house built between 1896 and 1914 (as seen on 2nd and 3rd edition O S maps) as the servants quarters, and a porch was added to the front. Canadian soldiers were billeted here during the First World War and in 1950 this large house was split into four properties, Manor Cottage returning to almost its original footprint. It was restored in 2007.

SOURCES:
DBRG Surrey Report no 2992 (1984)/
Revised DBRG report by Martin Higgins (January 2007).
Report by Tree-ring Services BTMC/15/5.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION DECISION:
Manor Cottage is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It is a substantially intact timber framed house dated to c1589 by dendro-dating.
* It is currently the earliest two-and-a-half-storey rural house known in Surrey.
* It is advanced for its date and of high status because it has fireplaces at both ground and first floor levels.
* It also contains late C18 features including panelling, a door and timber mantelpiece.
* The late C18 collection of personal objects hidden beside the chimneystack to avert evil demonstrates the late survival of superstitious practices despite the Enlightenment.
* It forms part of a group with two nearby listed properties.

Reasons for Listing

Manor Cottage, Betchworth, is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It is a substantially intact timber framed house dated to c1589 by dendro-dating.
* It is currently the earliest dated two-and-a-half-storey rural house known in Surrey.
* It is advanced for its date and of high status because it has fireplaces at both ground and first floor levels.
* It also contains late C18 features including panelling, a door, and timber mantelpiece.
* The late C18 collection of personal objects hidden beside the chimneystack to avert evil demonstrates the late survival of superstitious practices despite the Enlightenment.
* It forms part of a group with two nearby listed properties.

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26671642

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

• 
  Berkshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Pevsner's Architectural Glossary (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Introductions)
• 
  Pioneers of Modern Design: From William Morris to Walter Gropius (Penguin Art & Architecture)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)