Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell Cottage is a Grade II listed building in the West Oxfordshire local planning authority area, England. First listed on 29 June 1988. House. 7 related planning applications.

Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell Cottage

WRENN ID
ragged-lantern-fern
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
West Oxfordshire
Constituency
Bicester and Woodstock MP: Calum Miller (LD)
Country
England
Date first listed
29 June 1988
Type
House
Address
Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell Cottage, Bell Lane, Cassington, OX29 4DS
OS grid reference
SP 456 106
Coordinates
51.79281, -1.33951
Source
Historic England listing

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

Description

Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell Cottage are a pair of farmhouses, originally a single building, dating back to the early 17th century. A datestone of 1607 is visible on the rear elevation, along with later alterations from the 18th and 20th centuries. The building is constructed from coursed limestone rubble, with the first floor on the left-hand side rendered and the rear wall displaying timber-framing in two panels. The roof is covered with concrete tiles, with some stone slates in the centre, and features brick ridge and end stacks.

The farmhouse has a four-unit plan and two storeys, with a six-window front overlooking the garden. The right-hand section, Thames Mead Farmhouse, includes a 20th-century porch and timber lintels over late 18th-century six-pane sash windows and late 19th-century horned six-pane sashes. The first floor also has late 19th-century casements with similar lintels. Bell Cottage, to the left, features a 20th-century canted bay window, timber lintels over 20th-century casements, and a 20th-century extension to the front left. A small, gabled bay from the 17th century is located at the rear right.

The interior of Thames Mead Farmhouse includes stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops, a 17th-century panelled cupboard with butterfly hinges, and an early 18th-century bolection-panelled room. The roof space was not inspected. Bell Cottage features chamfered beams and large, open fireplaces with chamfered timber bressumers and stone jambs; smaller fireplaces are also present on the first floor. The roof is a 17th-century collar-truss construction with butt purlins.

A smaller, associated building to the left, also part of Bell Cottage, bears a datestone reading RE/1723 and is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with a gabled concrete tile roof and a brick end stack. It has a two-unit plan, two storeys, and a two-window range facing the road at the rear. This building has a 20th-century gabled porch and flat brick arches over 20th-century casements.

The site is located on land that formerly belonged to the medieval Godstow Abbey estate. Documentary evidence suggests the original house was divided in 1604 between Robert and Richard Greenway.

Local climate

Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell 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 77% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 70% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 50% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 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 — 7 transactions since 1998
  • Related listed building consents — 7 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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