Laburnum Cottage

Laburnum Cottage is a house built around 1848, with some alterations and additions made in the late 20th century. It is constructed of brick on a sandstone base and features a slate roof with ridge end stacks. The building has a rectangular three-bay plan and is a single storey. The main north front is designed with a layout of 1:3:1 bays; the central section projects slightly and is topped with a gable that has 20th-century bargeboards on shaped brackets. The outer bays contain original two-light casements, while the central section has a half-glazed door flanked by original single-light casements. There is a quatrefoil opening set in a stone rectangle at the apex of the gable. At the rear, there is a 20th-century parallel range that adjoins the main structure. Laburnum Cottage is one of 40 similar Chartist houses in Dodford, which were built primarily on four-acre plots by the Chartist Land Company. Each smallholding was designed to provide its occupant with an independent livelihood and the chance to qualify for a county vote, as noted by W. Bond in "From Hamlet to Parish" published in 1972.