Blacksmith Cottage, and Lavender Cottage is a Grade II listed building in the Dacorum local planning authority area, England. First listed on 19 March 1987. House. 6 related planning applications.

Blacksmith Cottage, and Lavender Cottage

WRENN ID
pale-fireplace-root
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Dacorum
Constituency
Harpenden and Berkhamsted MP: Victoria Collins (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
19 March 1987
Type
House
Address
Blacksmith Cottage, and Lavender Cottage, River Hill, Flamstead, AL3 8BY
OS grid reference
TL 079 146
Coordinates
51.8205, -0.4357
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

This is a house, originally one dwelling, now divided into two separate cottages, Blacksmith Cottage and Lavender Cottage. The building’s origins are likely 17th century or earlier, with a significant addition constructed in the 18th century to the northwest. A lean-to extension at the rear (south) and a porch were added in the 20th century. The structure has a timber frame visible on the north, south sides, and at the west end. The ground floor is painted red brick, with brick infill to the timber frame at the rear and in the front eastern bay. The east gable is roughcast, while the northwest block is of red brick. The roofs are steep, covered in old red tiles, with the main roof half-hipped at the east end. The northwest block has two parallel roofs running north-south. The internal arrangement features an internal chimney plan.

The main range is two storeys and an attic, facing north, with a lower two-storey block set into the northwest corner, also facing north. Small gabled brick and tile porches, one for each cottage, are positioned at the ends of the north front. The north front has an irregular arrangement of windows, including three leaded casement windows on the first floor, two on the ground floor, and a large segmental bow window. The northwest block has two-light casement windows with twin gables. The east end features a canted oriel window and a two-light casement window on the first floor. Exposed timber framing at the west end reveals a truss of clasped-purlin roof construction, along with a bow window on the ground floor.

Local climate

Blacksmith Cottage, and Lavender Cottage sits in a drier-than-average part of the UK, with an average of 730 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 80% 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 33 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 53% 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 — 8 transactions since 1996
  • Related listed building consents — 6 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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