Head Cowman'S House, Immediately South Of Park Farm Complex

This is a Bedford Estate cottage, likely built around 1850 by the 7th Duke. Constructed of yellow brick with ashlar dressings, it has clay tiled roofs and an asymmetrical plan, loosely in a Tudor style. The east elevation features a pair of projecting gables on the left, each with a three-light window to the ground floor and a two-light window above. These windows are mullioned with cast iron lattice casements, and are topped with moulded dripstones. A gabled porch sits within the angle where it joins the right-hand block, featuring a cambered archway and a part-glazed door. A dentil eaves cornice runs around the building. The stone coped gables have kneelers and moulded finials. Chimney stacks are positioned between the two gables and on the ridge of the right-hand block, featuring paired diagonal shafts with linked moulded caps. The cottage’s design, while picturesque, reflects a more practical phase of Bedford Estate building that began in the late 1840s and continued until World War I, encompassing the construction of approximately 500 cottages in the area. The 7th Duke was among the first to acknowledge the benefits of providing agricultural laborers with comfortable and functional housing rather than purely decorative dwellings, and the quality of these early workers' cottages is notably high. Both its form and decorative details closely resemble designs found in the 7th Duke’s Plans and Elevations. The increased use of ornamentation is likely linked to its location near the Park Farm complex within Woburn Park.