1 to 4 Ivy Cottages Hockliffe

Ivy Cottage in the late 1960s  [PL/PH2/41]

Ivy Cottages, 1-4 Watling Street, were listed by the former Department of the Environment in 1980 as Grade II, of special interest. Originally four cottages, numbers 1 and 2 have now been combined into a single residence. They are described as of red brick with Welsh slate roof, four sash windows with glazing bars, and four panel doors with bracketed doorhoods. The cottages are believed to date from the early nineteenth century. They stand on the eastern side of Watling Street in the area originally part of Chalgrave parish which was transferred to Hockliffe in 1929.

Ivy Cottages March 2015

Under the terms of the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 every piece of land and building in the country was assessed to determine the rates to be paid on them. The area of Hockliffe formerly in Chalgrave was assessed in 1926. All four cottages were owned at this time by a Miss Burnell who occupied what was then cottage number 2. The cottages each had a living room, a kitchen, a pantry and two bedrooms. No's 1 and 2 shared a brick built earth closet (no mention was made of any earth closet for 3 and 4). No.1 was occupied by W. Gadsden who paid 3/6 rent weekly; no.3 by D. Blake who paid 13/- per month; and no.4 by W.J. Allen who paid 3/6 per week. All four properties shared a common washhouse in an external barn. [DV1/C15/50-53]