The Old Library and Whitmore Cottage is a Grade II listed building in the South Hams local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 January 1967. A {} Cottage. 10 related planning applications.
The Old Library and Whitmore Cottage
- WRENN ID
- vacant-plinth-plum
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- South Hams
- Constituency
- South Devon MP: Caroline Voaden (LD)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 26 January 1967
- Type
- Cottage
- Period
- {}
- Address
- The Old Library and Whitmore Cottage, Stokenham, TQ7 2SZ
- OS grid reference
- SX 807 429
- Coordinates
- 50.27419, -3.67518
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Old Library and Whitmore Cottage is likely a former agricultural building that has been converted into two cottages, one of which was originally a reading room. It probably dates from the 18th century and underwent conversions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The structure is made of plastered stone rubble, with some possible cob, and features a thatched roof with gabled ends and eyebrow eaves. There are stone rubble stacks at the gable ends, which have slate weathered set-offs heightened in brick.
The building has a pair of cottages with gable end stacks. The right section was converted into a two-storey, one-room plan cottage, while the left part is said to have remained open as a reading room before being floored and converted into a cottage. The exterior is asymmetrical with two storeys and a window arrangement of 2:2, with wider spacing on the left side (The Old Library). All windows are 20th-century two-light casements, except for a late 19th-century three-light casement with glazing bars on the ground floor left. There is a large 20th-century canted bay window with a thatched roof to the left of centre (The Old Library), accompanied by a late 19th-century panelled door to its left, which has a 20th-century canopy above and is underbuilt with a 20th-century porch. The doorway to the right of centre (Whitmore Cottage) is in a wide opening with a cambered timber lintel and features a 20th-century door and casement to its right.
The interior of Whitmore Cottage was inspected and includes a large stone rubble fireplace with a rough unchamfered cambered timber lintel and an oven built into the side, along with later ceiling joists. The roof space is inaccessible, but the principals appear to be straight. Historical context is provided by Kelly's Directory of 1889, which notes that "There is a Reading Room erected and furnished by A.F. Holdsworth Esq. for the use of parishioners."
Local climate
The Old Library and Whitmore Cottage receives an average of 940 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 72% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 95% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 3 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 99% of listed buildings. Of these, 1 follows 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- Sale history — 2 transactions since 1999
- Related listed building consents — 10 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
Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.
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