The Retreat is a Grade II listed building in the Cotswold local planning authority area, England. First listed on 11 January 1985. A 19th century Almshouse. 1 related planning application.
The Retreat
- WRENN ID
- idle-keystone-sable
- Grade
- II
- Local Planning Authority
- Cotswold
- Constituency
- North Cotswolds MP: Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Con)
- Country
- England
- Date first listed
- 11 January 1985
- Type
- Almshouse
- Period
- 19th century
- Address
- The Retreat, 1-4, Main Street, Bourton-On-The-Hill, GL56 9AE
- OS grid reference
- SP 176 324
- Coordinates
- 51.99065, -1.74399
- Source
- Historic England listing
Description
The Retreat is a Grade II listed building located on Main Street in Bourton-on-the-Hill. This structure consists of four semi-detached almshouses, known as The Retreat of the Aged, which were erected in 1831, as indicated by a stone plaque above the central access arch. The almshouses were built under the patronage of the Reverend Samuel Warneford, who was the rector of the parish.
The building is constructed from ashlar limestone and features a 20th-century artificial limestone slate roof, along with ashlar stacks and limestone gable coping. The plan is a rectangular block with two principal gables that are slightly advanced from the facade, positioned to the right and left of the central access passage. It has two storeys and a symmetrical facade with a window arrangement of 1:2:2:2:1. The windows are late 19th-century to early 20th-century two-light casements with leaded panes, set within flush stone surrounds that have slightly rounded corners at the top.
The central access passage has a stilted arched entrance with a plain projecting architrave and imposts. The entrances to the cottages are located at the rear of the building. There are gable end stacks, as well as two axial stacks towards the center of the structure, and the gable coping is flat. The interior has not been inspected.
Local climate
The Retreat receives an average of 780 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 61% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 60% of listed buildings.
It experiences an average of 41 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 78% of listed buildings. Of these, 20 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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- No EPC on record for this property
- Sale history — 1 transaction since 2001
- Related listed building consents — 1 application
- 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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