Willow Cottage - 18 Cross End Thurleigh

18 Cross End - Willow Cottage, January 2015

Willow Cottage looks a very old building. It was listed by English Heritage in August 1983 and it was determined that it is surprisingly modern – 19th century. This is supported by the 1805 inclosure map for Thurleigh [ref: MA47/3] which does not show the property. The cottage has clay walls, like a number of 19th century cottages in the parish, with colour-washed roughcast over them. The cottage originally had two rooms and comprised one storey and attics beneath a thatched roof. At the east end stands a lean-to with a flat roofed 20th century extension to the west.

The Rating and Valuation Act 1925 legislated for every building and piece of land in the country to be assessed to determine its rateable value. Thurleigh, like much of the county, was assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting the cottage [ref: DV1/C73/93] found that it was owned and occupied by W. Asplin. It comprised a parlour, a living room, a kitchen and two bedrooms with a barn and three older barns all outside suggesting that it had been some form of smallholding.

In 1992 plans were submitted [ref: BorBTP/92/1042/LB] for alterations to the cottage. These were to extend the first floor.