Building record 2940/0/7 - Yew Tree Cottage

Yew Tree Cottage originated in the 17th century, but has undergone considerable alterations, notably the rebuilding of the rear wall in the 19th century, the rebuilding of the roof in the 20th century, the loss of the original bridging beams and joists in all but the first and second bays on the ground floor, and the replacement of all the windows in the 1970s. The cottage was considered for listing by Historic England but was found to be too altered, with the loss of too much historic fabric, to be added to the list.

{1} Yew Tree Cottage has origins in the C17 and has evolved in various phases. It was built either as a
three-bay, single-pile dwelling or two, single-bay cottages with a later third bay, and from this earliest phase it retains the three-bay plan form, two substantial bridging beams in the first and second bays, and an inglenook in the second bay. From subsequent phases, the panelled stair enclosure, C18 doors and C18 display cupboard, and C19 tongue-and-groove floorboards remain. As such, Yew Tree Cottage has a degree of architectural and historic interest as an evolved dwelling with fabric, fixtures and joinery surviving from a period spanning three hundred years.

Research by a local historian has identified Yew Tree Cottage as a farmhouse dating to the C17, although the blocked doorway to the left of the main door has also given rise to the suggestion that the building may have originated as a pair of single-bay terraced cottages which were later extended by a third bay to the south. The 1766 Enclosure Map shows a building on the site of the house, described as John Stanton’s farmhouse. In 1864 Yew Tree Cottage and its land was purchased by Charles Bateman who made a settlement in favour of his daughters Elizabeth Buckby (the wife of Richard Henry Buckby) and Madeline Mary Bateman. It seems that the land passed to Elizabeth and Henry Buckby as they sold it at auction in 1888 to the Trustees and executors of the Will of Charles Bateman deceased. The tenant of the farming land was almost certainly the Gilby Brothers. The Buckbys remained owners of Yew Tree Cottage until 1942 when they sold it to someone of the name of Hunt. In the early C20 the cottage was inhabited by a family of cobblers, although most of the
tenants around this period were farm workers.

Yew Tree Cottage has been extended and altered over the years. The 1885 Ordnance Survey (OS) map
shows the three-bay house with a lean-to on the north end and two small adjoining rear projections on the east side. The south projection is stone on the ground floor and red brick on the first floor, suggesting that it was originally an outbuilding and the first floor was added later. Adjoining the south end of the house is an L-shaped barn which was added in the Victorian period. By the time of the 1900 OS map, the small north rear projection had been removed, and the L-shaped barn had been extended on the east side. This later extension has since been removed.

The rebuilding of the rear elevation in red brick, and the loss of the original bridging beams and joists in all but the first two bays, indicate that the cottage has undergone phases of substantial rebuilding. The roof was rebuilt following a fire, possibly in the mid-C20, and in 1954 the cottage was renovated for a farm manager.

During the 1960s the lean-to tractor shed on the north gable end was converted into a dining room, two dormer windows were inserted, and the coal hole (the small south projection on the rear) was converted into a boiler house and an en suite bathroom was created above. In the 1970s the adjoining barn was incorporated into the living accommodation, and all the windows were replaced. A garage has been built against the south side of the house, and there are two C20 outbuildings in the garden.

Details

House originating in the C17 with later alterations and extensions.

MATERIALS: the house has a cob and ironstone core. The front (west) elevation is cob and ironstone,
covered by concrete render, and the rear (east elevation) is mostly red brick, painted white. The adjoining L-shaped barn is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish garden wall bond with some headers in vitrified brick. The roof is clad in Welsh slate.

PLAN: the building faces west onto Yew Tree Lane. It has a three-bay single-pile plan with a cross passage between the first and second bays and a small rear projection. Adjoining the south gable end is a former Victorian L-shaped, two-storey barn, now incorporated into the living accommodation, and a C20 garage.

EXTERIOR: the house has two storeys and an attic under a pitched roof with two red brick chimney stacks, one at the south (right) gable end and another rising though the ridge to the left of this. The fenestration consists of late C20 leaded casement windows mostly with brick sills and wooden lintels, and those on the front (west elevation) have wooden shutters. A C20 concrete plinth runs the length of the front elevation. The single-storey lean-to on the left (north) gable end is lit by a four-light horizontal window, and two three-light windows on the left return. The off-centre front entrance has a flat canopy over the plank and batten door which has a square window with four bullseyes in the top half. This is flanked by two windows on the left, and one on the right. The first floor is lit by a window above the front door and another to the right, above the ground-floor window. The red brick former barn adjoining the right gable end has two ground-floor windows and a first-floor window on the left. The right gable end of the main part of the house is of red brick and has two buttresses, added for support, either side of the central window. The left gable end is of roughly dressed coursed ironstone.
On the rear elevation, the east range of the L-shaped former barn has a catslide roof and is lit on all three sides by three-light windows. The north range has C20 French windows and a gabled dormer wholly within the roof space. To the right of the former barn, the two-storey projection has a stone ground floor and brick first floor. It is lit on the left and right returns by first-floor windows, and on the right return there is a vertical plank door with strap hinges. The entrance door to the cross passage is sheltered by a flat canopy and has four panels in the upper half, the top two glazed. This is flanked by a window on both floors. The lean-to extension on the right gable end is lit by a two-light window.

INTERIOR: the front door leads into the cross passage. The single bays either side possibly constitute the earliest dwelling which may also have included the third bay on the south side. Immediately to the right of the entrance is the straight flight stair which is enclosed by a partition of oak boards set horizontally and rises through two storeys with the upper partition formed in the same way. The ground floor floorboards have been replaced with concrete but the floorboards on the first floor and in the attic are tongue-and-groove, thus dating from around the 1830s at the earliest (with the advent of steam powered mechanical saws). Numerous C18 two-panelled doors with HL hinges survive throughout the house. On the ground floor, the first bay (now a kitchen) retains a substantial chamfered bridging beam and chamfered joists which is very likely of C17 origin. The second bridging beam is a steel beam encased in timber. The second bay has a bridging beam and joists, all of which are chamfered with lamb’s tongue chamfer stops. The joists have scarf joints on the east side. The inglenook positioned against the south wall has a reused timber bressumer and now contains a C20 logburner. In the third bay the bridging beam is a modern hollow beam and the joists are also later replacements. A fireplace opening with a timber lintel is positioned on the south wall, and on the east wall there is an C18 display cupboard which has two panelled doors with H hinges and three shaped shelves above. The recent removal of some plastering beneath the window has revealed brickwork and concrete patching. On the first floor, the bridging beams are later hollow beams and the joists are also of a later date. The second bay retains an C18 two-panelled cupboard door with HL hinges. The common rafter roof with side purlins probably dates to the mid-C20 after a fire destroyed the former roof. In the former barn adjoining the south gable end, the single-storey east range has C20 joists, and the two-storey north range is double-height with a balcony which leads to a first-floor bedroom.

<1> Historic England, 2016, Yew Tree Cottage, Yew Tree Lane, Spratton, Northamptonshire (Designation Advice Report). SNN110494.

Record last edited

Apr 1 2022 3:03PM