Streets through time - Church Street
Nos 10 & 12
Also known as Swiss or Yew Tree, or Old World Cottage
Other Church Street properties:
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No 9 Old Post Office aka The Ramblers
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Nos 10 & 12 aka Swiss or Yew Tree, or Old World Cottage
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Nos 15, 17 & 19 The Village Farmhouse
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No 20 Oak Farmhouse aka Chimo Cottage
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A stone house, now 2 houses, with steep pantile roof and attached boundary wall, no's 10 and 12 were built c. 1700 and remodelled c. 1820 -1840 with late 20th century additions and alterations.
This building is probably one of those remodeled in a picturesque style by Gregory Gregory in the 19th century. At the left end of the boundary wall is a resited incomplete octagonal cross shaft which has a stone owl sitting on top.
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It is not clear when the two cottages were merged into one house but it must have been post 1937 as they were sold separately in the estate sale. It appears to have had a number of names such as Swiss Cottage and Yew Tree Cottage which is shown on some maps. The latter seems to be most appropriate as all the Church St properties have names of plants and trees.
A 1970 map shows the name as Swiss Cottage and there is a building at the rear of the right hand side named as the Surgery. It is believed that a Dr Wallace (or Wallis) had the RHS cottage which was used as the doctor's surgery before it moved across the road next to the village hall.
In the smaller LHS cottage a Mrs Humphies (nee Palmer) lived here.
Censuses show that in 1901 in the right hand cottage, a widowed lady named Letitia Gooby aged 50 and her 22 year old son Alfred lived there. Letitia was a laundry worker and Alfred a railway clerk.
In 1937, A.E. Collins is the registered tenant for this cottage and Edward A Collins is there in the 1939 Register. Edward was a carpenter and furniture remover.
The 1891 to 1921 censuses also show that John (65 in 1921) and Annie Dickinson (62 in 1921) and their family lived there throughout. They had four daughters and a son - Elizabeth (8 in 1891), Edith (7 in 1891), Annie Fox (10 in 1901), Ada (5 in 1891) and Harry (8 in 1901). John was an estate worker and gamekeeper.
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In the left hand cottage, the 1901 census records that Arthur Sentence aged 62 and his wife Caroline aged 60 lived here. In 1921 Amos Dale, a farm labourer aged 51 and his wife Jane aged 66 lived there. Mr A Dale is the registered tenant for this cottage in 1937 and the 1939 Register shows Amos is still living there and is now a widower.
