109 to 113 Village Road Bromham

109 to 113 Village Road in 1962 [Z53/21/15]

109 to 113 Village Road was listed by English Heritage in August 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. The row of three cottages dates from the 18th century and is built of roughcast over a timber frame with a thatched roof. the row comprises one storey with attics. Number 111 originally only comprised one room downstairs and shared a back-to-back chimney and hearth with Number 113. Both 109 and 113 originally had two rooms downstairs.

The row was owned by the Bromham Hall Estate and when a large slice of this was put up for sale by auction in 1924 the row was included. The sale particulars [AD1147/4] read as follows:

LOT 18
A BLOCK OF
THREE CAPITAL COTTAGES
Situate in the Parish and Village of Bromham, with a frontage to the Village Street. The Total Acreage being

.397 of an acre

No.1 contains Two Rooms up and Two and Pantry down, and is let to Mr. V. Hyde, on a Quarterly Tenancy at a Rental of £3 4s. 0d. per annum

No. 2 contains One Room up and Two and Pantry down, and is let to Mr. H. Seamarks, on a Monthly Tenancy, at a Rental of £3 4s. 0d. per annum.

No. 3 contains Two up and Two and Scullery and Pantry down, and is let to Mr. F. Clark, on a Quarterly Tenancy, at a rental of £2 11s. 6d. per annum.

Each has Outside Shed and E. C. and Good Garden. The Total rental for this Lot is

£8 19s. 6d. per annum

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 row in 1927 [DV1/C3/85-89] discovered that it was owned by estate agent and surveyor Walter Molesworth Peacock who had presumably bought it in 1924. The individual dwellings, all of whom fetched their water from a tap 50 yards away, were as follows:

• Number 109 was occupied by W. B. Hyde who paid rent of £4/16/- per annum; before the sale it had been £3/4/- per annum. His accommodation comprised a kitchen, a living room and a bedroom downstairs with two bedrooms upstairs. A wood and tiled barn stood outside. The valuer commented: “Old Place, fair repair”
• Number 111 was in the occupation of H. Seamarks whose rent was £4/15/- per annum. He had a living room, a wood and corrugated iron lean-to scullery and a bedroom downstairs with one bedroom upstairs. A barn and an earth closet stood outside. The valuer commented: “Poor place”
• Number 113 was inhabited by T. Tebbutt whose rent of £3/19/4 per annum contrasted with £2/11/6 before Peacock bought the place. His accommodation comprised a kitchen, a living room and a store or lumber room with two bedrooms upstairs. A barn stood outside. The valuer's summary was the same as for Number 111: "Poor place".

109 to 113 Village Road March 2012