SNN115655 - 'The Roserie', 26 Westhorpe, Sibbertoft, Northamptonshire: Historic Building Record

This report is a record of a 19th century house called ‘The Roserie’, known locally for its architectural and historic merits, in the village of Sibbertoft (Northants).The building is classed as a Non-designated Heritage Asset (NDHA). It was recorded in its ‘as found’ state, in August 2023, during permitted alterations and conversion. While the house originated in the mid-19th century, it has architectural characteristics more usually attributed to the Georgian period. Circumstantial evidence suggests that the building was originally an estate house of the Villiers family, who were principal landowners in Sibbertoft parish throughout the second half of the 19th century. In the early 1910s the house became the residence of William Smith Cort and his family. Cort, who was a successful entrepreneurial businessman of Market Harborough (Leics.), greatly enlarged the house, modernised its principal façade and made numerous internal alterations. Observations made during the recording of the building enabled an analytical study to be made of its structure and the creation of a broad phase plan, which is correlated, wherever possible, with the documentary evidence. The resultant record thus sheds light on the building’s historic significance, its origin and evolution, the most probable instigators in each case - and ultimately allows a greater appreciation of the building in its present (permitted development) form. The report provides a descriptive and illustrative account of observations, by means of digital photographs and scale drawings.