The Cottage and former Soup Kitchen, Berkhamsted Castle

The Cottage and Former Soup Kitchen, Berkhamsted Castle

This is a Grade II listed building of irregular plan, constructed principally of brick with some walls built of flint rubble, timber roof structure, verandahs, and tiled roofs. It comprises three distinct ranges: a three-room, two-storey range with its ridge running east-west and a wrap-around verandah to the eastern end; a single-storey range towards the western end; and a gabled range with its ridge running north-south.

All roofs are gabled and tiled, and most windows feature diamond-paned leaded lights.

The south elevation of the cottage displays a tall brick chimney at each gable-end and gabled dormers either side of the door, which has a gabled canopy. The dormers are decorated with terracotta mouldings, as are the tops of the chimneys. The front is built from red and blue bricks with rubbed red brick surrounds and gauged brick lintels. Five two-light windows with diamond leaded lights are present. The front door has decorative strap hinges. A squint window in the south-west corner features a decorative terracotta barley-twist support. The former soup kitchen range has its gable-end to the front and is attached to the cottage by a single-storey range with a verandah.

The west elevation of the soup kitchen has two two-light windows with diamond leaded lights and stone cills. The north elevation has a large chimney rising from the gable-end and two small slit windows. The linking range features a shallow brick buttress and a very small square window. To the east is a slightly projecting gable-end with round-arched doorways to the gable-end and side wall, and three slit windows. The north wall of the cottage is built from irregular flint rubble (suggesting reused earlier fabric) and has a small lean-to section with one gabled dormer containing a three-light window and a two-light ground floor window.

The east elevation of the cottage is built from more regular flints with red brick dressings. A chimney stack protrudes and is slightly offset to the south. A two-light upper storey window and a single-light ground floor window are present, with a verandah featuring a red plain tiled roof wrapping around the eastern end.

Internally, the cottage retains the three-room plan as depicted in drawings dated 1865. The main living room preserves its inglenook with original bressumer and a boxed-in bread oven. A 20th-century wooden fire surround occupies the inglenook, and there is a narrow entrance way allowing access to the 1865 extension (used in the 21st century as the kitchen), plus a window in the south-west corner.

The hallway contains a turning staircase with stick balusters. Upstairs, three rooms are accessed from the landing. Some exposed tie-beams and principal rafters remain: the tie beam to the western bedroom is interrupted to allow for an inserted 19th-century plank door. The partition between the western bedroom and the landing bisects a window. Blocked 19th-century fireplaces exist in the east and west bedrooms.

The link between the cottage and soup kitchen contains 21st-century kitchen fittings. The former soup kitchen consists of two rooms: the southern room is accessed only by an external door in its east wall, while the northern room is accessed internally and retains an original cast-iron pump. The fireplace is absent and there are no other internal features associated with its use as a soup kitchen.

A late-20th-century patio with shallow steps and surrounding brick wall stands in front of the south elevation of the soup kitchen, with fencing mounted on the eastern wall.