17, 18 AND 20, THE SQUARE

This is a row of three houses located in Bibury, dating from the late 17th century. The houses are constructed from random rubble limestone with ashlar chimneys and stone slate roofs. The lower part of the row, comprising numbers 17 and 18, has three half-gabled sections on the front, each with a two-light recessed chamfered mullioned casement window with a hood mould. Doorways with timber lintels and plank doors alternate with three three-light casement ground floor windows. A short parapet at the south end of the front conceals a hipped roof. A single ridge-mounted chimney is visible. The higher part, number 20, has four half-gabled sections with timber casement windows and timber lintels. Inverted stone cresting marks the junction between a secondary ridge and the main roof slope. Scattered fenestration is present on the ground floor, including a doorway with a timber lintel and plank door. A vehicle passage, with a timber lintel, leads to a rear yard. A casement window has been inserted into a former coach house doorway on the right side of the passage. Two ridge-mounted chimneys with plain caps are also visible. The rear of the houses has four half-gables, two on each side of the vehicle passage. A return wing at the south end has a gable-mounted chimney. Various single-storey outshuts are present. The interior has not been inspected. Number 21 is attached to the north end. The building is illustrated in "Old Cottages … in the Cotswold District" by W.G. Davie and E.G. Dawber, published in 1905. This listing recognizes the group value of the row of houses within the local historic context.