8 Bedford Road - Dorchester Cottage Great Barford

8 Bedford Road - Dorchester Cottage in 1960 [Z53/5/12]

8 Bedford Road, Dorchester Cottage, was listed by the former Department of Environment in August 1983 as Grade II, of special interest. The department dated the property to the 17th century. It is constructed of colourwashed roughcast over a timber frame and the south gable end is of colour washed brick. The roof is thatched. The house was built on a plan of three rooms downstairs with bedrooms in the attics above. A single-storey lean-to and flat-roofed extensions lie to the rear.

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. Most if Bedfordshire was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting 8 Bedford Road found it owned and occupied by Thomas Mayhew. He noted that there was already a brick and tiled addition to the rear of the property. The ground floor comprised a parlour with a grate, a living room with a range, a kitchen with a copper for heating water, a sink and an open hearth, a cloakroom and a pantry. Three bedrooms lay in the attics above.

A coal, wood barn and earth closet lay outside. Water came from a pump. The valuer commented: “Comfortable, light, high, roomy”.

Dorchester Cottage was for sale in 2008 and the sale particulars [Z449/2/121] listed the layout as follows-  ground floor: a sitting room (19 feet 2 inches by 12 feet 4 inches); a kitchen (12 feet 8 inches by 9 feet 5 inches); a dining room (10 feet 10 inches by 5 feet 9 inches);a  study (12 feet 3 inches by 10 feet 3 inches); a utility/boot room (8 feet 11 inches by 6 feet 10 inches) and a downstairs W.C. Upstairs lay two bedrooms (12 feet 3 inches by 10 feet 3 inches and12 feet by 7 feet) and a bathroom. Outside lay a dovecote, a well style water tank, an outside tap and a barn/double garage.

Dorchester Cottage - 8 Bedford Road March 2010