Witts End Close - 35 Witts End Eversholt

 
Witts End Close February 2016

Witts End Close was listed by the former Ministry of Works in October 1952 as Grade II, of special interest. It was then called Wakes End Farm. The listing was updated by English Heritage in March 1987. The house was formerly subdivided into tenements and is thought to date from the late 16th century, making it one fo the oldest buildings in the parish. It is timber-framed with substantial timbers and has red brick infill between the timbers. It has a clay tiled roof and comprises two storeys with attics, originally having three rooms on the ground floor.

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 property [DV1/C131/94] fund that it was owned by the Duke of Bedford’s London and Devon Estates Company and occupied by William Goodman, whose rent was £10 per annum.

Accommodation comprised two living rooms, a scullery, a living room used as a store and three bedrooms. Outside stood a wood barn, an earth closet, three pigsties, a cart shed, a stable for two horses and a box used as a corn store. Water came from a well. The valuer commented: “Was two cottages. Part used as store. A Barn of a place”.

Outbuildings at Witts End Close February 2016