1 Swaden March 2010

1 Swaden is an attractive old house at the bottom of the hill near the junction with the Potton Road. It was listed by the former Department of Environment in December 1979 as Grade II, of special interest. The department dated the property to the 18th century, noting that it was extended in the 19th century. It is built of whitewashed roughcast and comprises two storeys beneath a concrete tile roof.

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. Sandy, like most of the county, was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting1 Swaden, then called Swading [DV1/C148/137] found it owned by Francis Pym and occupied by H. W. Barker who paid rent of £10/8/- per annum.

Accommodation comprised two living rooms, a kitchen and scullery downstairs with two bedrooms above. Outside stood a wooden barn, an earth closet, a wood and tiled coal shed and a plot of garden. It is clear from the map and descriptions in the valuer’s notebook that there were other buildings clustered around the property in 1927 which have since gone. The wooden barn seems to have been converted into additional accommodation.