Laburnham Cottage Bolnhurst

Laburnham Cottage February 2016

Laburnham Cottage is a pretty, half-timbered and thatched affair but, despite this, it has not been listed as it does not meet the requirements. The Bedfordshire Historic Environment Record [HER] contains information on the county’s historic buildings and landscapes and summaries of each entry can now be found online as part of the Heritage Gateway website. The entry for Labunrham Cottage [HER 3472] states that it dates from the 18th century and was once a row of smaller tenements.

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 cottage [DV1/C168/30] found that it was owned by A Jordan and occupied by A Whitmore, whose rent was £6 per annum.

The brick, render and thatch cottage comprised a living room, kitchen and scullery with three bedrooms above. Outside stood a weather-boarded and tiled barn, a weather-boarded and tiled shed and weather-boarded and corrugated iron fowl pens. The valuer commented: “Quite good for the neighbourhood”. The tenant also rented an adjacent grass field from A Jordan. This comprised 3.233 acres and was £5 per annum; it included a corrugated iron shed “of no value”.