10 and 11 Froxfield Eversholt

10 and 11 Froxfield February 2016

Froxfield was an area of kitchen gardens for Woburn Abbey [R3/2264], still referred to as Froxfield Gardens in the 1890s. 10 and 11 Froxfield was listed by English Heritage in March 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. The Pair are Bedford Estate houses described as being circa 1800. They are built in red brick with flared headers forming a chequer-work pattern. The structure has a 20th century tiled roof and comprises two storeys. They may have been built in 1830. The Duke of Bedford’s estate correspondence for that year gives instructions to prepare sketches for new double cottages in Froxfield Gardens [R3/2358]. A public house or alehouse stood at Froxfield in the early 19th century. It is not clear where exactly it was but it must have been somewhere near 10-11 Froxfield.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. The valuer visiting the properties [DV1/C131/5-6] found that they were still owned by the Duke of Bedford’s London and Devon Estates Company. Number 10 was occupied by John Kidder “rent-free”. The cottage contained two living rooms, a kitchen, a pantry, four bedrooms and a cellar. Timber and slate earth closet, coal barn, workshop, cycle shed and wood barn stood outside.

Number 11 was occupied rent-free by Samuel Burgess. It had two living rooms, a kitchen, a pantry, five bedrooms and a cellar. Two barns, an earth closet and a washhouse stood outside.