The Cottage, Walton

Apologies for the length of time between my previous post and this one. I was working hard to finish my manuscript for Pen and Sword and didn't have the energy or brain power to cope with that and a new blogpost. There will be a book hitting the shelves in 2024!

Along with the book I have also had a little dilemma about what to write. I desperately want to share my information about the true age of Peterborough Museum building, but don't want to annoy the people connected to it. I deliberately withheld it whilst there was a blue plaque exhibition at the museum, but feel like the post could still be received as being provocative or troublesome, so it will sit a while longer. If I can find clear evidence of the building there before 1816 (beyond what I already have) then I will immediately post something!

Anyone used to discussing Peterborough's history will be familiar with the sentence 'well there used to be a [insert name of interesting/beautiful/historically unique building] but that was demolished in the [usually 60s or 70s]'. This is then followed by annoyance and anguish at the loss of something that would be valued now. However this destruction is still happening and the remaining history and fragments of beauty are being chipped from the map of the city. Even if a building has listed status it is only the very outside that is usually scheduled to remain intact. The very soul of the building can be pulled out and sterilised to make it a suitable modern home or workplace when so many internal features are as valuable as the exterior (see images for Priestgate House and Walton House). 

What has stuck in my mind recently is the proposed destruction of yet another historic building in Peterborough, this time a house in Walton that was known as 'The Cottage'. The house is situated on the corner of Lincoln Road and Mounsteven Avenue and is around 200 years old, but not listed. It has been identified as a building of historic importance to the city, however, and, along with its beautiful garden, has been a beloved building for people who could peer over the wall to glimpse back in time for a moment. Walton is an area that used to have a big manor house and some beautiful stone farm houses, old inns, and even a little Victorian train station, but all that's left is one listed building 'Walton House' and 'The Cottage'. 

It is a beautiful but neglected property and I'm under no illusion that it needs a lot of work done to it, but it is completely unique both to Peterborough and the country. The Rightmove listing of the property is still available (see below) and you can view all of the quirky little details that make the building an absolute gem. From the strange curved stone and slate extension on the downstairs bedroom (which in my mind is a perfect office), to the bay window and shutters in the sitting room crying out for a window seat, to the mismatched architecture and misaligned extensions. There's also a large wooden hallway with a the most beautiful sinewy curved handrail discoloured over decades of use (or from a few sliding bottoms!). Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but I am confident that with the right support and some TLC it would make a really interesting family home. 

Images and floor plans of the building on the Rightmove site let us understand a little of the history of the building. Originally, it looks like it would have been quite a modest three-bedroomed stone house, possibly the one that was up for let in 1838. It was described as having 'one parlour, one kitchen, three or four bed-rooms, with every convenience for a small family.' (1) The initial building has had plenty of extensions and improvements, some built in local yellow Flettons and others a dusky pink. The range and style of windows on the building are a mix of sash and casement, some with bars and some without, which reminds me of the south side of St Firmin's church in Thurlby (see earlier post). They are completely mismatched, yet there is a charm to them, and it wouldn't be impossible to install new windows that talk to each other and the building.

There's also a sizeable greenhouse (I suspect that's already been levelled along with the garden and orchard) and there are stairs on the plans suggesting a cellar. There's also a boot room (trust me, that's a wasted space in Walton), a snug, a store room, and a cloakroom for actual cloaks! The kitchen is definitely a bit small and a strange shape, so a bit of internal remodelling with some of the other redundant rooms would make it a better home. But this is my point - it's still got the bones to be a good home. 

If the developers are stopped from demolishing the house then there is still a large garden that could partitioned. Two semi-detached houses could be built on the annexed land to continue the line of the existing properties on Lincoln Road. They could even be set back from the others with two off street parking spaces provided. This means the cottage could be saved and the developers would still earn money from the building of a couple of houses, which would also suit the existing housing stock and be appropriate for the location. 

We should be actively protecting what little remains of Peterborough's history and heritage, and that includes the quirky buildings and the awkward ones. The angry responses to the demolition of the building show that people do care and they do value the building and gardens. And in response to the argument that we need more houses, an application has gone in to build some apartments on a nearby green, so the need is being met elsewhere. For once, it's time to let a bit of history remain in a city that's haemorrhaging its past.

Update: since sharing this blogpost the council have rejected the developer's application to demolish the building. However, this is because they had only asked for prior approval and they would need to submit full planning permission to be allowed to destroy the building. This story is definitely not over!

(1) Stamford Mercury, 9 March 1838, p.3.

Map reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland

https://search.savills.com/property-detail/gb0400l144366

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128195936#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/politics/council/lets-have-some-old-peterborough-left-plans-to-demolish-19th-century-building-criticised-by-residents-4139563

A Visit to St Firmin's, Thurlby

On the penultimate Saturday of November, before the temperature finally dipped to that closer to winter, I visited St Firmin’s church in Thurlby. Many churches in the fenland area are, understandably, eighteenth or nineteenth century, so it was a treat to find a substantial church with origins in the 10^th century and lots of evidence of expansion over the years. 

The church clings to the lowest part of the village, the rest of it sitting on the higher ground up the hill to the west. The church and a few houses are cut off from the rest by what is now the busy A15, but was historically King Street, a Roman road leading to Lincoln.

What delighted me most about the church was its liminal location on the very point where the snooker-table-flat fens rise up to higher ground. I had checked maps and a satellite image of the church before I arrived, and knew that Car Dyke, the local Roman canal was next to the church, but I was very pleased to see it played a part in the boundary of the church grounds.

Car Dyke is said to follow the Iron Age shoreline (there is an old book featuring a wonderful map that I last saw in a Stamford bookshop that illustrates this point perfectly, but I cannot find it – the search will continue) and there has been much discussion, therefore, about whether the dyke was built as a canal or as a drainage dyke. Frankly, it is impossible to build such a feature and for it not to act as a drainage feature and likewise to create a feature and not expect people to use it for transport. There are some signs that the dyke has been used for transport and it links up well with roads and paths that still exist in the landscape. I look forward to Rex Sly’s upcoming book on Car Dyke to read what he has made of it.

You would expect the church to be on the western ‘dry’ side of Car Dyke, but it is on the ‘wet’ eastern side instead. There are several things to remember here: firstly, Car Dyke is largely straight and the boundary between fen edge and high ground is not; the church was built hundreds of years after Car Dyke and the shoreline was not close at that point; it is possible that people were living or ploughing all the other available land and it made sense to use land that was available. We cannot rule out the fact that earlier religious features were there first (as is presumed at Maxey church) and this was a continuation of that. It’s worth pointing out that St John’s Church Peterborough/Medeshamstede was originally built on the boggy fen edge with less success and it had to be moved at the start of the 15^th century because it was often inaccessible in the winter.

                                                            

The church is lovely and there is an adjoining car park, which makes visiting easy, so I recommend you do. I didn’t get the chance to go in to the church, but I was more than satisfied with the features outside. The porch features two large coffin lids which are complemented by others used in the wall by the entrance gate to the graveyard. I am certainly no expert on architectural features, but there are a number of interesting faces and features on the walls to observe; you might want to take binoculars or a decent camera to see them. If you’re very observant, you’ll spot the faded datestone in the wall at the north-eastern end of the church by the curious feature that looks like a bowed stand for a statue. If anyone knows what it is, then do let me know!

                                                    

The graveyard is really well kept and there are some unusual and noteworthy gravestones. See if you can spot the panther family as you start to walk around, or some of the common local names such as Lenton.

                                        

The southern side of the church has a feast of different windows as if a foreman has gathered every window shape they could find in a workshop and forced them all into the part of the church they were asked to build. There is little logic to them from the outside, so I am hoping that a visit inside the church will explain the existence of such oddly placed windows.

Walking to the edge of the churchyard really gives you a sense of the churches place in the landscape, and how it was been extended into the flatter land as it has become necessary. You can also get a greater sense of how the land rises up at Car Dyke and then continues up the hill.

Should you still be curious about Car Dyke, you can follow the path that runs along it either north to Bourne or south to Kate’s Bridge. There appear to be some interesting mounds to the south, so I intend to return to see what they are. On this day I headed north and followed the footpath over the culverted dyke – it’s always nice when modern features respect the old boundary lines. The path is short and takes a quick turn over the released dyke, over which is a tiny bridge with what appear to be old footings. After crossing a (very high) style you find yourself in a field and you can follow the path across it to continue to walk along Car Dyke all the way to Bourne, should you wish. On that route you’ll pass the old manor house and The Grange, which has clear examples of ridge and furrow in the fields close to the A15.

                                                  

                                                Old coffin lids used in the graveyard wall

St Firmin's is a little oasis and a delightful site to visit if you want to blend Roman history with medieval and more recent history. It’s also delightful to stand at the edge of the graveyard, knowing it was once the Iron Age coast and that as you look northeast there is nothing but flat land (and Spalding) between you and The Wash.

All images belong to the author.