4 Keeley Lane Wootton

4 Keeley Lane March 2012

4 Keeley Lane was listed by English Heritage in August 1987 as Grade II, of special interest. It adjoins 6 and 8 Keeley Lane, which are also listed. The property dated from the 17th century, though altered in the 20th. It is timber-framed with colourwashed cement render over the exterior. The cottage comprises a single storey with attics beneath a concrete tiled 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. Like most of the county, Wootton was largely assessed in 1927 and the valuer visiting 4 Keeley Lane [DV1/C51/11-12] found that it was then two tenements under one roof. The western section was owned by H. Whitehouse and tenanted by C. Burreway who paid rent of 11/6 per week for a living room and kitchen with two bedrooms above. A barn and an earth closet stood outside. Water came from a well next door and the valuer opined: “Very poor place”.

Next door was owned by a man named Parrott, but was then vacant. The valuer simply wrote: “House fallen down, not lived in for Donkey’s Years!!!”