Goddards Cottage

Goddards Cottage, Abinger Common

A house formerly used in part as a post office and later as a gardener's cottage. The central two bays form an early 17th century lobby entrance house of two storeys, extended by one bay at each end and refronted and heightened in the late 18th or early 19th century, with windows renewed in the 20th century.

Materials and Construction

The central two bays are timber-framed with brick infill or underbuilding. The extensions are of brick, with some stone rubble featuring galleting, and tiled end gables. The roof is tiled with a central brick chimneystack and an additional stack to the rear slope. Windows are wooden casements with leaded lights.

Plan and Elevation

Originally a two-bay lobby entrance house, the building was extended by one bay at each end and has a small 19th century outbuilding to the rear. The plan is irregular with two unevenly-spaced front doorways.

The north-east side displays timber framing on the first floor of the penultimate southern bay, with midrail and studs visible. The remainder is of brick except the ground floor of the right two bays, which is stone rubble. The first floor has a two-light casement; the ground floor has three-light and two-light casements with leaded lights. The penultimate bay to the right features a cambered-headed doorcase and a 20th century gabled tiled porch on rustic poles. The left end bay has a wide doorcase with four flush panels. The south-eastern end has a tiled gable and a first floor 18th century tripartite wooden window surround with 20th century casement, plus two ground floor casements. The north-west end has a gable hung mainly with diamond-shaped tiles with stepped edges and two two-light ground floor casements, the right with a cambered head.

The rear south-west elevation is mainly Flemish bond brickwork except the ground floor of the penultimate southern bay, which is stone rubble with galleting. There are two first floor casements, one tripartite ground floor casement, and a 19th century lean-to outbuilding with pantiled roof.

Interior

A tiled lobby opens to the north-west into a small room with a timber corner beam and midrails to the north-west and north-east walls. The adjoining pantry has a tiled floor under which exists a well; the timber-framed wall between pantry and kitchen appears to have been the original end wall of the property. The kitchen has a cambered fireplace opening with a 19th century shelf, an 18th century two-panelled door to the pantry, and a boxed-in spine beam. The next room to the south-west has a spine beam with one-inch chamfers and floor joists with chamfers and lamb's tongue stops. It contains a late 19th century fireplace with tiled surround and a ledged plank door leading to a straight flight staircase. Both doorcases in this room have early 19th century reeded surrounds and square paterae. The end south room shows traces of a midrail and two studs in its north wall; the south-west wall is stone rubble with visible studs. An un-chamfered central beam and square floor joists, which appear to have once accommodated a trapdoor or staircase, span the room. The floor is stone flag with 19th century four-panelled doors. The staircase has a section of 19th century balustrading with stick balusters on the upper floor.

The north-west bedroom has a late 19th century fireplace with wooden surround, tiles and metal firegrate but no pre-19th century features. The middle bedroom shows an exposed tiebeam with heightened ceiling, five wall studs, and a mid-19th century wooden fireplace with duck's nest grate. The adjoining bedroom has an exposed tiebeam painted white corresponding to that in the previous room; the wall plate is visible on the first floor. The south end bedroom has an exposed tiebeam but no other exposed timber framing. The roof structure shows pegged rafters and purlins, though secondary rafters have been added with nailed collars for strengthening.

History and Setting

The building is shown with its current footprint on the 1871 Ordnance Survey map as a post office. In 1899, Sir Edwin Lutyens built Goddards to the north-west as a "Home of Rest for Ladies of Small Means" for Sir Frederick Mirrielees. Lutyens extended and altered Goddards in 1910 as a private dwelling for Mrs D Mirrielees. By the 1914 Ordnance Survey map, the cottage was no longer a post office and housed the gardener to Goddards, who maintained the Gertrude Jekyll garden. Goddards Cottage is currently owned by the Lutyens Trust but leased to the Landmark Trust. It holds group value with adjoining listed buildings, including Goddards itself (Grade II*), also by Sir Edwin Lutyens.