Tudor Cottage

Tudor Cottage is a timber-framed cottage built in the late 1920s or 1930s using salvaged materials from Tudor buildings designed by Frederick Burwood. It is listed at Grade II.

The cottage is constructed with timber framing and brick infill panels, much of the material salvaged from Tudor buildings, with a roof covering of handmade red clay tiles. It occupies a corner plot at the junction of Elmgrove Road and Poplar Road, with an approximately rectangular plan, a small projection on the north-east corner, and a detached outbuilding to the west.

The building is a one-and-a-half storey structure in the Tudor Revival style. The timber frame consists of tall narrow panels, some with a middle rail, resting on a brick plinth. The structure comprises a long south range and two gabled crosswings beneath steeply pitched roofs with salvaged bargeboards carved in a foliate design. Two pairs of ornate octagonal chimneys, constructed using small medieval bricks, rise through the front slope of the south range and the east slope of the west crosswing. These chimneys feature oversailing courses and raised floral patterns, all in moulded brick.

The long south elevation has plastered panels and is sheltered by a loggia with timber supports of square section. From left to right, it contains a three-leaf door with square glazing bars in a wooden doorframe, followed by two three-light casement windows with small square leaded lights set in wooden frames. This fenestration pattern is similar throughout the building. To the right of centre is a gabled dormer window set wholly within the roof space, with bargeboards and braces between the sill and verges, lit by a two-light casement window.

The west gable end projects at the upper level, supported by substantial timber posts with curved brackets. It contains a six-panelled door flanked by adjoining single-light windows, with a single-light window lighting the attic. The gable head has braces between the sill and verges. To the left is the side elevation of the west crosswing, lit by a three-light window with herringbone brickwork infill in the ground floor panels.

The north elevation consists of the two gable ends of the crosswings lit by three-light windows and a single-light window in the upper floor. All ground floor panels here are infilled with herringbone brickwork. An enclosed brick porch under a hipped roof projects from the east crosswing, with a timber door of three vertical panels.

The east gable end is lit by a three-light window and a single-light window in the attic. Attached to the north-east corner is a single-storey projection under a steeply pitched roof, likely the original service area. It has herringbone brickwork infill and is lit by three-light casement windows matching those on the main part of the cottage.

The interior is said to retain almost all original features and fittings. Several beams appear to have been reused from much older buildings, as do some of the doors, built-in furniture, decorative panelling and carved timber features. One reception room retains moulded bridging beams and joists, and a wide fireplace of small bricks with a timber mantelpiece supporting a panel of medieval woodwork divided into four decoratively carved panels.

A detached outbuilding to the west, square in plan, is a subsidiary feature. Cartographic evidence suggests it may retain original fabric.