4 Bedford Road July 2010

4 Bedford Road, Orchard Cottage, was listed by English Heritage in March 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. The house dates from the early 18th century and it was reworked sbout 1800. It is a timber framed structure, the road elevation having been rebuilt in mottled red, grey and yellow brick. It has a hipped clay tile roof and a two-storeyed L-plan.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 specified that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed as to its rateable value. Aspley Guise was assessed in 1927. The valuer visiting 4 Bedford Road [DV1/C141/15] found that it was owned by builder Charles Sinfield (it stood adjacent to his builder's yard which lay between 4 Bedford Road and The Bell public house) and occupied by W. S. Wells, who paid rent of £13 per annum, the same as before the Great War.

The roughcast and tiled, detached building comprised three living rooms, a kitchen and scullery with a cellar beneath. Four bedrooms lay upstairs. Outside lay a w. c. and a barn. The property was connected to mains water, drainage and gas. The valuer commented: "Less for position - right in Builder's Yard" and "bad".