Willow Cottages (EHER 82918)

Two storey cottage, of timber frame and brick construction, containing a fragment of a timber framed building dating to the fifteenth century. The cottage has tile-covered, half hipped roofs with a pentice on the west elevation and an end stack to the east. Half of the fifteenth century building was replaced with a Victorian structure which was demolished during the 1970s. The cottage was substantially renovated in the 1980s when a two storey extension was added to the north and a porch was erected to the south. On the ground floor there is part of an open hall remaining with some surviving close studding, two jowled wall posts with relict mortice joint for braces to the remaining tie beam and some sections of midrail and wall plate. One of the studs in the rear wall has a groove which may have accommodated a screen, but does not appear to mark the correct location for a screens passage, suggesting reuse. it is claimed that the cottage was part of a hall house, but there has been considerable loss of historic fabric during the Victorian period and the 1980s renovation obscuring the plan form of the original building.

Information from NRHE CONTEXT. An application to list 1 Willow Cottages has been submitted to English Heritage as it is believed to be a timber framed cottage of significance. The cottage lies in the hamlet of Broads Green, which is not designated a Conservation Area. There is a pair of listed cottages in the hamlet, at some distance from Willow Cottages. HISTORY. Broads Green is located to the south-east of Great Waltham in Essex, near to the county town of Chelmsford. In the eleventh century and twelfth century, the feudal manor of Walthambury, close to the present-day village, was owned by the De Mandeville's, later made Earls of Essex by King Stephen. There are a number of small greens in the hinterland of the village, of which Broads Green is an example. 1 Willow Cottages contains a fragment of a timber framed building, probably of fifteenth century date. Approximately half of this historic building was replaced with a Victorian structure, which in turn was demolished and another dwelling put in its place in the 1970s. The cottage was substantially renovated during the 1980s when a two storey extension was added to the north, a porch erected to the south, the timber framed structure was underpinned, the roof structure and all sole plates were replaced, the chimney and fireplace reconstructed and a solid floor laid. Approximately one third of the remaining rear wall frame has been removed at ground and first floor where the northern extension co-joins with the original structure and a late twentieth century staircase has been inserted. All of the windows are twentieth century casements and mostly in altered openings, apart from that at the first floor west gable end which is in the position of a former mullion window. DESCRIPTION. The building is a two storey cottage of the fifteenth century, renovated in the twentieth century with a twentieth century two storey extension to the north and porch to the south. It is of timber frame and brick construction, with weatherboard cladding. The cottage has tile-covered, half hipped roofs with a pentice on the west elevation and an end stack to the east. INTERIOR On the ground floor there is part of an open hall remaining with some surviving close studding, two jowled wall posts with relict mortice joints for braces to the remaining tie beam and some sections of midrail and wall plate. One of the studs in the rear wall has a groove which may have accommodated a screen, but does not appear to mark the correct location for a screens passage, suggesting reuse. The sole plate and roof structure is twentieth century and an inserted twentieth century stair leads to the first floor. The front and rear wall frames have been broken through to accommodate twentieth century additions. The chimney has been reconstructed in the twentieth century and there are some timbers at the east end which are not part of the fifteenth century structure. To the west (left) is another room, partitioned in the twentieth century and floored over perhaps in the sixteenth century or seventeenth century with a transverse bridging beam with lambs tongue stops. It has close studding to the rear wall frame and west and east cross frames, the latter continuing at full height to the first floor where an arched brace and a blocked doorway are apparent. On the first floor, above the second room, is a chamber with a remaining tie beam with shutter groove for a mullion window. Above the tie beam, the frame is of thin scantling and later in date. ASSESSMENT. All buildings dating to before 1700 containing a significant proportion of their original fabric are listed. No. 1 Willow Cottages contains the remnant of a vernacular house, built from locally obtained materials, and reflecting traditional building techniques. It is claimed that 1 Willow Cottage was part of a hall house, with the central, principal room being a portion of the un-floored open hall. To the west is another room, but what is not clear is whether this was the service end or the solar as there is insufficient evidence remaining in the physical fabric. The west room was floored over at a later date, perhaps in the latter half of the sixteenth century when open-halls became less fashionable, but the central space remains open. It is uncertain whether this was floored over and opened up during the 1980s renovation, or was never floored. The remaining fifteenth century frame has quality in the use of close studding and contains timbers of some interest including the grooved stud perhaps for a screen and on the first floor, evidence for a shutter behind a mullion window. There are, however, a number of reused timbers present which may have been contained within the historic frame or put in place during the refurbishment. Unfortunately , there has been considerable loss of historic frame, however, with the breaching of the rear and front wall frames, replacement of the roof and sole plate. Furthermore, the plan of the historic building has been obscured by the renovation of the 1980s and most significantly, the loss of the larger part of the historic structure at the east end. The two storey extension to the north further de-values the architectural quality of the historic build. The remaining fabric is a fragment of a fifteenth century structure, the plan of which cannot be deciphered with certainty, but only conjecture. <1>