1-3, Distillery Side

Nos. 1-3, Distillery Side are a group of cottages, originally a National School, built in 1836 for the Fitzwilliam estate in Elsecar. The building was altered later and renovated for domestic use after being unoccupied at the time of a survey in 1986.

The cottages are constructed of coursed, squared sandstone with a stone slate roof. They comprise three bays and two storeys, with a partial basement. The two left-hand bays have a basement doorway, originally with an ashlar surround, now enclosed in a porch. The blocked doorway was flanked by windows with ashlar surrounds and deep lintels, now containing small-paned casements replacing those previously blocked. Similar renewed joinery is used for the windows to the two floors above, with projecting sills and deep lintels. The right-hand bay originally had a two-light, horizontally-sliding sash window with glazing bars to the right of each floor, replacing existing joinery. Small casement windows are positioned at mid-floor level to the left, with a pair at the highest level. The roof has end-stacks and a ridge-stack to the left of centre, all built of stone and incorporating tabling. The rear elevation had a rewindowed two-storey façade with paired, boarded doorways between two windows on the south side, and a single doorway to the north side with a window beyond; the windows were then three-light iron casements with concrete sills and lintels.

The cottages are historically significant as part of Elsecar, an industrial village established from the late 18th century by the Earls Fitzwilliam, who invested in coal mining and iron working. This resulted in industrial buildings, workers’ housing, and urban facilities within a previously agricultural landscape. The building was identified as ‘National School’ on an Ordnance Survey map from 1849-1850 and was likely funded by the Fifth Earl Fitzwilliam, who subsequently supported the construction of a larger school near the church due to access difficulties caused by the new railway.

The cottages take their name from a nearby tar distillery that operated between 1814 and 1818. They share group value with the adjacent Elsecar New Colliery and its Newcomen Engine House, which is a Scheduled Monument.