Bothy

MAULDEN

407/13/71 GEORGE STREET 03-MAY-85 BOTHY (Formerly listed as: GEORGE STREET COTTAGE BORDERING ROAD, ON EAST EDGE O F FORMER VILLAGE GREEN) (Formerly listed as: GEORGE STREET BOTHY)

II Cottage, c.C18, red brick in Flemish bond with a thatched roof. Simple single storey two-roomed dwelling.

EXTERIOR: The roof is hipped to the south and half hipped to the north. There are opposing entrances with plank and batten doors south of centre in the east and west elevations, with one window to the east, two to the west and one in the south gable end.

INTERIOR: The interior is divided by a timber framed partition, the top timber of which is a tie beam. The central section of the partition, between two upright timbers, is missing, but the location of the door can be identified from the wear on the timber sill, and the position of further posts from the mortices in the beam. At the north end of the building is a brick fireplace flanked by shelved cupboards. The central section of the bressumer has been cut out where it seems to have been burnt, and replaced with brick. A lathe and plaster ceiling has been inserted above the level of the wall plate, which remains visible. Above the wall plate and in the loft the roof can be seen to be covered in limewashed wattle and daub.

HISTORY: A building is shown on this site on the Enclosure Award map of 1797, where the plot of land on which it stands is numbered 79, and described as 2 roods and 29 perches belonging to the Town Estate, a Maulden charity that provided both assistance to the poor and funds for the upkeep and repair of the church. The cottage was probably originally timber framed, but its walls were rebuilt in brick in the C19. The interior would have been open to the roof, which is plastered but now ceiled over. Further C19 or C20 alterations include the insertion a brick fireplace, possibly after a fire that seems to have destroyed or severely damaged the fireplace bressumer. The central section of this has been cut out, leaving traces of burning on the surviving timber. The cottage was last occupied in the 1950s.

SOURCES: Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service: P31/25/6. Charities Town Estate (in Maulden) A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 313-316. http://www.british-history.ac.uk Date accessed: 1st September 2009.

REASON FOR DESIGNATION: The Bothy is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * It is a rare surviving example of a very humble C18 dwelling. * Many of the internal constructional details, including plan form and materials, survive intact.