39 High Street Thurleigh

39 High Street, January 2015

39 High Street is a pretty cottage, the front wall of which bulges outwards. It is not particularly old, as it is not shown on the 1805 inclosure map [ref: MA47/3] and so must post-date it. The cottage used to be listed to "reserve" status – the former Grade III but when this category was abolished the cottage ceased to be listed. It is a timber-framed construction with colour washed roughcast render and comprises two storeys beneath a thatched roof.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 legislated that every building and piece of land in the country was to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Thurleigh, like most of the county, was assessed in 1927. The valuer visiting this cottage [ref: DV1/C73/31] found it owned and occupied by Mrs. N. Wagstaff and comprising a parlour, living room, scullery and two bedrooms upstairs. Two barns stood outside. The valuer commented: "Lovely", going on: "Was rented two years ago at £6 before done up. Very nice little property but only two bedrooms. Would make good weekend cottage". Another hand wrote, as if we were in any doubt: "Detached and very nice".