1 to 7 Thorncote Road Northill

1 Thorncote Road March 2010

1 to 7 Thorncote Road were listed by the former Department of Environment in March 1985 as Grade II, of special interest. The department dated the row of four cottages to the 18th century They have a timber framed construction, partly with colour washed brick infill, partly with colour washed rendered infill. All have thatched roofs and comprise one storey and attics. In recent years the properties on Thorncote Road have all been renumbered. 1 to 7 Thorncote Road were formerly Numbered 6 to 12.

In 1910 a thorough rating valuation was carried out across England as part of David Lloyd-George’s pioneering 1909 budget. The survey was so thorough it was known colloquially as the Domesday Survey. The results show that all the older buildings in Northill were owned by John Edmund Audley Harvey, who, though he lived in London, was Lord of the Manor of Northill as well as Lord of the Manor of Ickwell and owner of Ickwell Bury. These older buildings may have been built by a former Lord of the Manor or bought by the Manor at a later stage – detailed research of the Harvey [HY] archive would be needed to try to establish this in each case, unless the current owners still have the deeds to the properties concerned and so can research the history for themselves.

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. Northill was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting the properties [DV1/C45/1-4] found them all owned by C. Bygraves. Presumably he, or a predecessor in title had bought them from the Harveys at some point since 1910 though whether by private treaty or public auction is unknown. The individual properties were as follows: Number 1: occupied by Mrs. Mary Ann Raines; Number 3 occupied by Frederick Finkl; Number 5 occupied by Mrs. Sarah Smith; Number 7 occupied by Arthur Brunt.

Each tenant paid rent of 3/6 per week, the rent before the Great War having been £4 per annum. Each cottage stood in a tenth of an acre and accommodation comprised a living room, kitchen and scullery with two bedrooms above. A barn and earth closet, as usual in Northill, stood outside and, again as usual for the village, water came from an outside tap.

3 Thorncote Road March 2010