Eighteenth century cottage range, Watts Cottages, Nevendon Road (EHER 26782)

Formerly Grade II listed. Cottages originally built in the 18th century. The range formerly comprised three rendered, brick cottages, of one storey with an attic lit by dormer windows, under mansard roofs, with two chimneystacks. The roof was originally slate. During the late 20th and 21st centuries the cottages have been altered and modified. The original slate roofs, timber windows and doors have all been replaced with modern materials and the original plan form was remodelled in the late 20th century. All interior features, fixtures and fittings are late 20th century in date. The house was listed Grade II in 1973 but was delisted in 2010.

December 1973. Grade II listed. Formerly Broomfords Cottages. A range of 18th century cottages, altered and added to. They are made of plastered brick, and comprise one storey and attics, with casement windows. The roof is tiled, in a mansard form, with two gabled dormers and one sloping roofed dormer. The Cottage at the East end has stopped gables. Listed Building designation was revoked on 19/11/2010.<1> NRHE data transfer: Until the middle of the 20th century Wickford was an entirely agricultural parish, but in 1955 Wickford was selected as a site for housing the population of East London left in temporary accommodation after World War II. The new development did not affect Watts Farm, 400m SW of the village, and Watts Cottages are indicated on the 1882 Ordnance Survey map in an open landscape, which remains the case today. The group of three attached 18th century cottages were listed in December 1973 and subsequently altered in a series of changes which first saw them converted to two separate dwellings, then to one, and a large kitchen extension added to the rear. The range formerly comprised three 18th century, rendered, brick cottages, of one storey with an attic lit by dormer windows, under mansard roofs with two chimneystacks. The slate roof covering has been replaced with composite machine tiles in the late 20th or early 21st century, and all architectural details are of the same date. At the SE elevation there is a central, early 2st century, brick entrance porch with a high raking roof which connects two dormers rebuilt in 2001. There are two uPVC casements either side of the entrance porch and two-light uPVC casements to each of the rebuilt gabled dormers set to the right and left of the elevation. All of the windows in the building were replaced in 2005. The right and left returns are now without openings and the rear (NW) elevation is dominated by a one-storey and attic kitchen extension of about 2001. Most of the rear walling has been rebuilt and all windows and dormers are of the early 21st century. A single chimneystack remains at the junction between the slightly taller former East cottage and the remainder, it is capped but allows for a central heating boiler flue. The entrance porch opens into a modern hallway with a dog-leg staircase against the North wall and to the East is a bathroom and a bedroom, neither of which display features earlier than about 2000. The remainder of the ground floor is one single room, taken out of two former cottages, and to the rear is the modern kitchen extension. Over the stairwell, three rafters of the roof structure are open to view, rising from the wall plate to a purlin, with a straight brace, typical of around 1780. A corridor has been created along the SE side of the building off which open various bedrooms and bathrooms that are entirely modern and do not follow the pattern of original room divisions. Watts Cottages, Nevendon Road, Wickford, Essex is recommended for de-listing for the following principal reasons: * Architecture: the Cottages have been altered incrementally since the building was listed in 1973, resulting in the loss of historic fabric and removing its special architectural interest through attrition. * Materials: the original slate roofs and timber windows and doors have all been replaced with unsympathetic materials. * Interiors: the original plan form was completely remodelled in the late 20th and 21st centuries and all interior features, fixtures and fittings are late 20th century in date. <2>