Building record MDO47519 - Talbothayes Cottages, West Stafford

Nine workers' dwellings built in the vernacular architectural style comprising two terraces of four two-storey cottages and a single bungalow constructed in about 1890. Probably designed by the poet and novelist Thomas Hardy, who designed Talbothay Lodge which stands opposite at this time. They are built of Broadmayne brick beneath hipped slate roofs.

The cottages are shown on the 1902 Ordnance Survey map as nine units, comprising two rows each of four attached cottages and a bungalow. Nos. 1-4 are set back from the road; the second row, Nos. 6-9, are located to the south east and parallel to the road; and the bungalow (No. 5) is situated between the two terraces. When built the cottages had a ground floor living room, kitchen and bathroom, with three bedrooms on the upper floor, but the original plan of the bungalow is unclear due to extensions and modernisation. The dwellings occupy a large plot of land, each with their own gardens and to the rear of each of the terraces is a parallel row of washhouses. Documentary sources record that in 1887 some land to the east of West Stafford was purchased by Thomas Hardy the Elder, a builder and stonemason, and father of the famous novelist and poet. In circa 1890 a house, known as Talbothays Lodge (Listed Building number 106393), was built there by Hardy senior for his eldest son Henry and daughters Kate and Mary. The design of this dwelling has been attributed to his son Thomas, who did train as an architect prior to becoming known as an author. Talbothays Lodge is situated immediately to the south west of, and on the opposite side of the road from Talbothays Cottages and is listed at Grade II. It is likely that Talbothays Cottages were erected at about the same and their design can probably also be attributed to Hardy. Information provided by the applicant indicates that Talbothays Cottages remained in the ownership of the Hardy family until the death of Kate Hardy in 1940 when the eight cottages, bungalow, and Talbothays Lodge were bequeathed to two individuals, including her solicitor. Most of these dwellings are now in separate ownership.

Nine workers' dwellings built in the vernacular architectural style comprising two terraces of four two-storey cottages and a single bungalow constructed in about 1890. They are built of Broadmayne brick beneath hipped slate roofs. There are two brick ridge stacks to each terrace. The front elevation of both terraces is virtually identical and comprises a porch with entrance door, a camber-headed two-light casement window to the ground floor and a similar one above. The windows and door to No.1 have been replaced with uPVC units and roof lights have been added to Nos. 6, 7 and 8. To the rear elevation the pattern is repeated with single and two-light casement windows and a rear entrance porch to each cottage. No.9 has a lean-to addition of corrugated sheeting. Behind the cottages and separated by a narrow access path is a parallel row of outbuildings that were formerly the washhouses. The bungalow, located between the two rows of cottages, has a hipped slate roof and a single brick stack. The principal (south) elevation has a central entrance porch flanked by late 20th century timber casement windows. All other fenestration is also late 20th century. It has been extended on its west and east sides. In front of No. 5 and Nos. 6-9 is a low boundary wall of matching brick with cast iron gates at the entrances to each of these properties. Each cottage originally comprised a sitting room, kitchen and bathroom to the ground floor and three bedrooms to the upper floor but now all differ depending on the extent of later alterations, particularly the enlargement of the kitchen and the re-positioning of the bathrooms to the first floor. The interiors are very simple; some of the cottages retain late-19th century fireplaces, which have plain wooden surrounds and some cast-iron fire baskets in the bedrooms. The doors and other joinery are plain. The interior of the bungalow has been entirely modernised.

This group of workers' housing of the 1890s has undeniable charm and is clearly highly regarded by many local people. They are built of good materials, but are modest buildings and lack ornament. This would not necessarily preclude listing but intactness and other distinctive features such as innovative plan form would need to be evident. Thousands of vernacular buildings are already listed, particularly those constructed before 1840. The spread of standardised building patterns and nationally produced building materials after the mid-19th century saw a huge reduction in vernacular building construction and much greater selectivity is required for those built after this date. To qualify for selection such buildings must show clear evidence of their building history in the retention of their original plan form, fabric, construction and decorative detail. Despite the fact that Talbothays Cottages survive largely externally intact; internally the relatively simple plan form and decorative detailing has been altered by modernisation to almost all of the cottages in differing degrees. No. 5, the bungalow at the centre of the grouping, has been quite considerably extended and has been modernised throughout. Additionally the 1902 Ordnance Survey map shows that No. 5 appears to have previously been located within what appears to be a walled enclosure with a number of outbuildings built against this boundary wall. However most of these structures and the walling have been removed. These changes, together with the gradual degradation of the internal room arrangements to a number of the cottages and the replacement of some of the rafters to the roofs of the outhouses, has without doubt had an impact on the integrity of the whole ensemble. Certainly other more complete and distinctive examples of 19th century housing survive elsewhere in Dorset and are listed, these examples being generally earlier, more complete and architecturally interesting. Of the contemporary later 19th century examples that have been listed, such as the estate cottages on the High Street and on Chine Hill, both in Puddletown; and Nos. 1-2 Park Lane in Evershot, all have a greater degree of architectural treatment to their exteriors and, in comparison Talbothays Cottages are very plain and pedestrian for the period. One of the main points of interest is the connection with the Hardy family. Although known today as a poet and novelist, prior to publishing any of his novels Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) trained as an architect. During the 1860s, after an apprenticeship in Dorchester he worked for the London-based architect Arthur Blomfield who specialised largely in church architecture. From 1869 to c.1872 Hardy worked at the offices of George Crickmay of Weymouth but it was not until his fourth novel, Far from the Madding Crowd, was published in 1874 that he gave up architecture in favour of writing. In 1885 he designed his own house in Dorchester, a restrained Queen Anne Revival style villa known as Max Gate and it was here that he wrote several of his most famous works including Tess of the D'Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. However Hardy appears to have undertaken few, if any, architectural commissions. It is possible that he was involved, together with the architects Hicks and Crickmay, in the design of the Church of St John the Evangelist, Hinton Martell in East Dorset which was built in 1870, but his involvement is not known for certain; and in 1920 he designed the war memorial inscription on the 1904 Post Office building in Dorchester. Apart from his own house, Max Gate, and Talbothays Lodge therefore, and most likely Talbothays Cottages
(although there appears to be no historical documentation to verify his involvement in the design of the latter), Hardy was certainly not a prolific architect. The two family houses he designed clearly show an attention to detail and both are representative of the architectural styles that were prominent towards the end of the 19th century. However, whilst Talbothays Cottages is a competent design, the buildings are extremely modest and do not possess any particular architectural interest. The historic interest of Hardy's possible involvement in their design however is not sufficient to outweigh the lack of architectural distinction. Although an attractive grouping of cottages and a bungalow and despite having group value with the nearby listed Talbothays Lodge, these buildings are not of sufficient architectural distinction to distinguish them from similar buildings of this date and so do not justify listing. They are fairly plain and while this would not necessarily militate against listing given their modest type, they have undergone alteration; No. 5 in particular has been considerably extended and its internal plan form changed. They are not sufficiently special or early as workers' housing to merit listing. They do, however, have clear local interest and fit well into their setting and would perhaps be worth putting on a list of local buildings of architectural interest. (1)

<1> English Heritage, English Heritage Alternative Action Report, Adviser's report on case 164515, in file 503986/001 (Scheduling record). SDO18279.

<2> National Record of the Historic Environment, 1480380 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 7 2023 2:53PM