Newnham Historic Buildings

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Tudor Cottage, 25 The Street, Newnham

Tudor Cottage was listed in 1967 as Grade II. At that time it was just known as 25, The Street although the house has had several names over the years. In the 1920s it was The Old Cottage and in the memoirs of Miss Norrington she remembers it covered in ivy and known as Ivy House. During the time it had a thatched roof it was sometimes known as The Thatched House.

Establishing the date of any house of a significant age from documents is problematical. The majority of written records have been lost and until recently, planning permission was not required. However, clues can be found by analysis of style and construction.
Tudor Cottage is a timber-framed house - the most common form of house construction for 600 years. The earliest surviving examples from the 13th and 14th centuries are very rare. However, from the 16th century, until they ceased to be built in the late 18th - early 19th centuries, many buildings can be compared and designs seen to change over time or from area to area.
The listing details comment that Tudor House was once a hall house, probably a Wealden type.

Wealden Houses are found outside the Weald of Kent but this was the region where they originated and the best examples are to be found in Kent and Sussex. This style of house became fashionable in the late medieval to early Tudor period and was a typical yeoman's house. Over 500 years ago, the original owner was likely to have been a yeoman farmer with a significant position in local society.

For a long time Tudor Cottage provided accommodation and workspace for the most important country crafts of blacksmith and wheelwright. The Norrington family worked the yard from 1851 starting with Henry Norrington, passing to his cousin (another Henry Norrington) in 1861 and then to his son William Norrington in 1881, father to the Norrington sisters, Josephine and Paulina. Paulina's memoires provide a wonderful insight into life in Newnham around the turn of the century.

During the late 1890s Alfred Humphrey became the new wheelwright employer. Alfred is pictured here (adult on the left) in his yard with two workers and his three sons (left to right) Fred, Alfred and John.

More pictures of Tudor Cottage and its wheelwright's yard taken in the early 20th century can be viewed on the bygone images page of this website.

On Saturday 24th September 1977, Frederick Humphrey (aged 68) escaped unhurt from the building when it was completely gutted by fire. All the contents of the house were destroyed. The ground floor was gutted as well as 60% of the first floor and a quarter of the roof area.
It remained boarded up until 1979 when it was advertised for sale for offers over £10,000. Renovation work was handled with sensitivity, using old timbers where possible. This work has ensured that it will survive for many more years as a beautiful home in a quiet Kent village.

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