Housing at the former Elsecar Ironworks, 2 and 4 Forge Lane

This pair of cottages was built in the 1850s as housing for workers at the Dawes’ Elsecar Ironworks. They are constructed of well-dressed, coursed sandstone to the west, facing Forge Lane, with brick used on the remaining elevations. The roofs are covered with Welsh slate.

The cottages have a single-depth, central entrance plan with a central staircase. The west-facing Forge Lane elevation is double-fronted and two storeys high, with central entrances. Number 2, the northern cottage, has a wider frontage and an additional window above the front door. The windows have stone lintels and projecting sills; number 4 retains original two-over-two, horned sash windows. The six-panelled front doors have over-lights; the northern door is set back within a round-arched opening, while the southern door has a simpler stone lintel. A square, stone-built ridge stack is shared by the cottages. In addition, the southern cottage has a brick stack and the northern a gable-end brick stack.

The rear, east elevation has irregular window placement, with original openings retaining stone lintels. The ground floor is largely occupied by single-storey outbuildings and projections.

Interior details are not available from inspection but information from other sources indicates that the ground floor front windows retain shutters and panelled reveals. Beneath number 4, a large cellar features a jack-arched brick ceiling supported by iron plates or girders.

The rear yards are paved with stone setts and enclosed by high boundary walls, some of stone, others of brick. The single-storey outbuildings are primarily brick-built, although the northernmost one is mainly stone with a tall brick chimney. This group value reflects the significant contribution these cottages make to the understanding of the Elsecar Ironworks’ social history and industrial landscape.