Wren Cottages is a Grade II listed building in the Braintree local planning authority area, England. First listed on 18 January 1978. Cottage. 3 related planning applications.

Wren Cottages

WRENN ID
scarred-chalk-willow
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Braintree
Constituency
Braintree MP: Sir James Cleverly (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
18 January 1978
Type
Cottage
Address
Wren Cottages, 1 and 2, the Street, Birdbrook
OS grid reference
TL 706 410
Coordinates
52.04201, 0.48753
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: sale history · EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

A pair of attached cottages dating to the late 18th century. The cottages are timber-framed with plaster rendering and a thatched roof. They are aligned approximately northeast to southwest, facing northwest, with a central chimney stack. A 20th-century single-storey extension, roofed with red pantiles, has been added to the northeast side. The cottages have one four-panel door, one glazed door, and four 20th-century metal casement windows. There are two swept dormers, one dating from the 20th century and one from the 19th century, each with casement windows. The roof has a gambrel form with a steeply pitched lower section.

Local climate

Wren Cottages sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 700 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 90% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 77% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 32 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 58% of listed buildings. Of these, 16 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • Sale history — 10 transactions since 1996
  • Related listed building consents — 3 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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  2. The Plough Inn Grade II 35 m
  3. Parish Church of St Augustine Grade II* 58 m
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  5. Birdbrook Hall Grade II 92 m
  6. The Old Rectory Grade II 215 m
  7. Moat Farmhouse Grade II 230 m
  8. Wash Farm Cottages Grade II 764 m
  9. Bailey Hill Farmhouse Grade II 1.0 km
  10. Chadwells Farmhouse Grade II 1.2 km