Church Cottage March 2008

Church Cottage stands just south-east of All Saints Church, bordering the churchyard. It is an attractive building which looks, at first sight like two and may well have been so for much of its life. It was listed by the former Department of Environment as Grade II, of special interest. The western, lower, part of the house is the oldest - being 18th century; it is a timber-framed construction with a colour-washed rough-cast render over it like many other cottages in the village. It has a clay tile roof and consists of one storey with attics. The eastern part of the property has a plaque stating W H W 1856 from which it can be implied that it was built by William Henry Whitbread in that year, unless he merely remodelled an existing structure which, given that he left the western part untouched, seems unlikely. This part of the cottage is made of chequered brick with a fish scale tile roof.

In 1927 Southill was valued under the Rating Valuation Act 1925; every piece of land and building in the country was assessed to determine the rates to be paid on it. The valuer visiting Church Cottage [DV1/C32/98] noted that the house was owned by the Whitbread Estate and occupied by G.J.Burgess.

The cottage stood in just under half an acre and comprised two living rooms, a kitchen, scullery and cellar with four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs; a wood shed and coal shed stood outside along with three workshops. The valuer commented: "½ is v.old and low, ½ new".