Milestone Cottage, Rodborough, Gloucestershire

Summary

A cottage, in Cotswolds Arts and Crafts style, dating from 1913, by Thomas Falconer (1879-1934).

Description

A cottage, in Cotswolds Arts and Crafts style, dating from 1913, by Thomas Falconer (1879-1934).

MATERIALS
The cottage is constructed from squared and roughly-coursed locally-quarried limestone, with plain tile roof. The windows are dressed limestone apart from two late-C20 timber casements.

PLAN
The building is roughly rectangular, with a rear outshut which has a canted corner to the roadside.

EXTERIOR
The building is of two storeys and attic, with chamfered stone mullioned windows of one, two, three or four lights, and rectangular leaded glazing; there are gable end chimneys, that to the east projecting externally and with two diagonally-set stacks. The main (south) elevation has two wide bays, that to the right projecting forward, with a steep gable with kneelers which encompasses the first floor and attic. To the ground floor, there is a recessed chamfered doorway to the left, with a wide, plank door with decorative studding and ironwork strap hinges. To the right is a three-light window. Above is a two-light window to the first floor, and a single light to the attic set high in the gable apex. The left bay has a single window to each of the ground and first floors, of four and three lights respectively. The rear elevation has a central gable to the attic, above the lean-to extension, which has two later half-dormer windows, to the ground and first floors respectively. The left section of the lean-to has a canted corner with a multi-paned, arched-headed window which hinges to the interior. To the west end is a late-C20 glazed porch with hardwood timber frame.

INTERIOR
The interior has exposed chamfered and stopped beams and joists to the ground floor; the doors are plank and batten with decorative strap hinges, nail studding and elaborate latches, which are by Alfred Bucknell, as are the complex window catches. The main entrance gives access to the through-hall, which houses the enclosed dog-leg stair. The wall surface is articulated by a plaster moulding at high skirting level. The living room has a lateral ceiling beam set on moulded corbels. The fire surround is of limestone with a moulded mantel shelf and a brick insert. The dining room, on the opposite side of the hall, was originally the kitchen; it has a high stone fire surround with a brick lining, which would have housed a range. To the north side is a recess which would have been the scullery. The outshut houses the modern kitchen and lavatory; it is reached via the original external door, of plank and batten construction. The fixtures date from the late C20. The first floor has a small galleried landing with a square newel post with moulded cap, plain stick balusters and a moulded handrail; a similar arrangement forms the balustrade to the attic stair. The principal first-floor room has a fireplace similar to that in the living room but on a smaller scale. The other room has a range of fitted cupboards with iron latches. The bathroom, in the upper section of the lean-to, has a replacement uPVC window. The attic has exposed roof timbers to both bedrooms.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES
North-west of the house, to the rear of its garden, is a small stone-built bothy with a plank and batten door with decorative studding and tile roof.

This list description was subject to a Minor Amendment on 30/03/2015

History

The cottage was built on land on Rodborough Common in 1913, which was in the ownership of the Lowsley-Williams family of Chavenage House near Tetbury. It is believed it may have been constructed as a house for a farm manager. The building takes its name from the milestone on the opposite side of the road, which marks distances to Stroud and Cirencester. The building was designed by Thomas Falconer (1879-1934), a significant local Arts and Crafts architect who was responsible for the designs of several large houses around Minchinhampton and Amberley in the first three decades of the C20. The house was probably built by Walter Gorton, quarrymaster on Minchinhampton Common, from where the stone for the cottage was obtained; Gorton was also a prominent local builder, who built for Falconer and other Arts and Crafts architects working in the area, including Sidney and Ernest Barnsley and Norman Jewson. As was the case with many of the Arts and Crafts houses constructed in the area in this period, the window and door furniture, and other ironwork, were made by Alfred Bucknell, the foreman-blacksmith who worked with Gimson and the Barnsley brothers at the renowned Arts and Crafts colony in nearby Sapperton. The timber doors were probably provided by Peter Waals’ workshop in Chalford.

The original cottage was extended by the addition of a single-storey lean-to soon after it was completed, and in the late C20, two new half-dormers were introduced in the rear elevation, with timber casements.

Reasons for Listing

Milestone Cottage, an Arts and Crafts house of 1913 by Thomas Falconer (1879-1934), is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural interest: the house is a good example of Falconer’s Arts and Crafts interpretation of Cotswold vernacular building, with excellent massing, careful proportions, limited but good external detailing and strict adherence to traditional materials and craftsmanship;
* Interior: the interior demonstrates good quality in its spare but neatly-detailed architectural style, clear evidence of its traditional construction, and retains its Arts and Crafts windows, stone fireplaces, plank and batten doors with decorative hinges and studding by Alfred Bucknell, and built-in cupboards;
* Intactness: although the house has undergone a small extension and two dormer windows have been added, this has not impacted on the level of survival of the original building, which is little altered otherwise.

External Links

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.