Numbers 34 To 39 And Detached Outhouses

A row of six cottages and detached outhouses were built in 1854 on the Bedford Estate by the 7th Duke of Bedford. Constructed of red brick laid in a rat-trap bond, the cottages have 20th-century tile roofs. The symmetrical block is one storey high with attics and features a six-bay facade, with central and outer bays gabled, and smaller gablets on the second and fifth bays. The ground floor has two three-light windows on either side of four two-light windows. The attic has six two-light windows. All windows originally contained cast iron lattice casements under slightly cambered heads. The cottages have four-plank doors, with all except number 37 adorned with gabled hoods, featuring curved brackets and drop finials. Porches are located on the side elevations of numbers 34 and 39. Multiple red brick chimney stacks rise from the roofs.

The 7th Duke of Bedford prioritized comfortable housing for agricultural labourers, shifting the focus from picturesque designs to practicality in the late 1840s. These cottages demonstrate a high quality of construction for their time and represent an influential contribution to the development of working-class housing, influencing later garden city and council housing projects. The Dukes of Bedford built approximately 500 cottages in the locality between the 1840s and World War I, and this block typifies the plain but substantial dwellings from the early phase of this building program, resembling designs in the 7th Duke’s Plans and Elevations. The brickwork is notable as an early form of cavity walling, as noted by Charles Hacker. The cottages are part of a significant group of estate cottages along a road forming the boundary of Woburn Park and are included for group value.