Building record 1884/0/37 - 34 High Street

Cottage probably dating from the first half of the nineteenth century. The cottage is built of coursed limestone to an 'L' shaped plan although the original plan-form of the building is uncertain; it seems to be an amalgam of a dwelling and outbuilding. It is part single-storey, part two-storey. The doors and window openings have been altered and have twentieth century fenestration. The roof is covered with twentieth century concrete tiles. There are no historic fixtures and fittings remaining.

{1} CONTEXT.
English Heritage has been asked to assess 34 High Street for possible listing. A planning application for the buildings demolition and redevelopment of the site has been refused. The rear garden boundary of the property is immediately adjacent to the scheduled ancient monument of Titchmarsh Castle, a fourteenth century moated manor house (monument no.13628) and there are listed buildings in the immediate vicinity of the house, some designated during the resurvey of 1987. The house is not located in a conservation area, but is considered to make a positive contribution to the appearance of this part of the village. The building has suffered some collapse on its east elevation. Inspection of the interior was limited as the owner suggested that the building was not safe to enter.

HISTORY.
Titchmarsh is a large, former agricultural village in rural Northamptonshire with a fifteenth century church and a number of listed buildings in the historic core. The scheduled Titchmarsh Castle further attests to the antiquity of the village.

Historic map evidence indicates that no 34 High Street has remained largely in its current form since the first edition OS map of 1886. Its date of construction is uncertain, but it appears to date from the first half of the nineteenth century. In more recent times, the walls of the east-west range have been raised considerably and the roof structure apparently replaced. The door and window openings are altered and have twentieth century fenestration. The interior appears to have modern fittings and fixtures.

DESCRIPTION.
A large cottage of coursed limestone, 'L' shaped , part single/part-two storey, probably of early to mid nineteenth century date. The building has a twentieth century concrete tile roof; the north-south range has two late nineteenth century brick end stacks. The roof of the east-west range has been raised and rebuilt, with stone and bricks on the façade and rear and stone on the west gable-end. This range has iron ties to the front and rear and twentieth century window and door openings. The north-south range has a variety of altered openings with twentieth century casements.

INTERIOR
From the partial inspection, there are no historic fixtures and fittings remaining.

ASSESSMENT.
Most buildings dating to between 1700 and 1840 are likely to merit listing on the basis of their age, coupled with architectural quality and intactness. For vernacular buildings, retention of the original plan-form, construction and fabric are factors for consideration.

No 34 High Street is a modest building which carries the evidence of historic and more recent remodelling in its physical fabric. The original plan-form of the structure is uncertain, and it seems to be an amalgam of a dwelling (the north-south range) with an agricultural outbuilding, the latter approximately east-west range being single storey without a stack servicing it. The claim to special interest lies principally in its prominent position on the High Street and its age, for it is not a rare building type nationally or regionally. It is not to be expected that a cottage of such status should have outstanding exterior visual quality, but to merit listing, the original historic fabric should be largely intact and uncompromised by later remodelling. Unfortunately, the exterior walls of certainly the east-west range have been raised considerably and the roof is clearly of twentieth century date. The openings on both ranges are altered, indeed it is not certain whether any of them are original, and all of the fenestration is twentieth century. Furthermore, the interior fixture and fittings are twentieth century in date and do not add interest.

Although the building is considered too altered from a national perspective to meet the requisite standard for listing, it clearly has local value. Although not in a conservation area, the building, constructed mostly from local limestone and set within a former small holding, undoubtedly contributes to the character and appearance of the village.

<1> ENGISH HERITAGE, English Heritage Listing File (Report). SNN111579.

Record last edited

Feb 17 2025 6:25PM