The Cottage, Washwells Original research Sheila Parker September 2022
The Cottages seen on the top rank of Washwells (courtesy Sharon Loxton, geograph.org.uk, 2006)
Perhaps the most unhelpful house name is “The Cottage” because there is probably a dozen so called in Box. The Cottage at Washwells was more complicated as it started as two separate premises, “Rose Cottage” and “The Cottage” which were held in different ways as freehold and leasehold interests. This article traces the known history of the premises, now collectively called “The Cottage”, and how the premises and the various interests have now been merged.
Early History
The area of Washwells is very old, mentioned in the Allen 1630 map as Wash Well and owned by the Speke family, lords of Box Manor.[1] Rose Cottage is reputed to date from the 1700s and The Cottage slightly younger. The Speke ownership was confirmed in 1655 when a Declaration of Trust by George Speke refers to two holdings at Washwells called Chapmans Washwells and Butchers Washwells but it isn’t possible to trace the cottages at this time. We can speculate that they were owned by the lords of the manor and acquired by the Northey family when they took over the Speke estate. The origin of the area’s name is also uncertain but the most likely seems to be its use as a series of sheep-dips or possibly for washing fleeces. Meanwhile, the landlords built and then let out the cottages in return for a rental income.
The area of Washwells is very old, mentioned in the Allen 1630 map as Wash Well and owned by the Speke family, lords of Box Manor.[1] Rose Cottage is reputed to date from the 1700s and The Cottage slightly younger. The Speke ownership was confirmed in 1655 when a Declaration of Trust by George Speke refers to two holdings at Washwells called Chapmans Washwells and Butchers Washwells but it isn’t possible to trace the cottages at this time. We can speculate that they were owned by the lords of the manor and acquired by the Northey family when they took over the Speke estate. The origin of the area’s name is also uncertain but the most likely seems to be its use as a series of sheep-dips or possibly for washing fleeces. Meanwhile, the landlords built and then let out the cottages in return for a rental income.
Francis Allen's map of 1630 shows "Wash Wells" (courtesy Wilts History Centre)
In the 1851 census, we can identify eight separate households living there (but it is impossible to identify the precise property without house names): Jonathan Bath, retired mason, George Ford, woodman, John Gale, quarryman, James Arlett, quarryman, John Matthews, labourer, Charles Newman, mason, William Hawkins, quarryman, and John Brinkworth, shepherd. Most of the families were still there in 1861 and in 1871, although there are beginning to be different occupations listed at the end of this period with employment such as John Newman, Marine pensioner, George Ford, Farm bailiff, and Mark Greenman, drayman.
The cottages seem to be passed on through different generations of the same family but the typical employments altered by 1911 to include a Stationary Engineman, horseman and butcher.
Northey Freehold Ownership and Separate Tenancy
The deeds of the Washwells area give an indication of the complexity of the land held by the Northey family. The whole area was mortgaged for £14,800 in 1906 shortly after the death of George Wilbraham Northey. It was then re-mortgaged at regular intervals in 1909, 1912, 1918, 1919 and 1922.[2] Some of the changes were due to deaths of the trustees dealing with the Northey estate and funding issues in the difficult circumstances for landlords in the period around the First World War.
The ownership of the properties was also complicated by the grant of a lease for 1,000 years on 30 October 1843 to Charles Newman and William Strange. Frances Browning (-20 February 1923), widow of George Browning, of Spring Grove, Church Lane (sometimes called Springfield Villa), inherited the residue of the leasehold interest of a part of Washwells. The two cottages (the subject of this article) were let to Messrs Wigan and Norris and later to Messrs Poulsom (in The Cottage) and Shewring (in Rose Cottage). She also acquired the lease of a different Washwells property which had been let to Robert Arthur Wall and later to Mr Mays. On Frances Browning’s death in 1923 she left the cottages and land at Washwells to her niece Fanny Moody.
Meanwhile, the trustees of the Northey estate decided to cut their losses and sell their remaining interest in the Washwells properties.[3] In 1923 they sold the freehold reversion (separate from the leasehold interest) to Frances Emma Minty Moody (1886-1971), wife of Corsham master printer and stationer Harold Wilfred William Moody, who lived at Station Road, Corsham. We get a marvellous impression of the properties in 1926 from Kathleen Harris, who lived at The Old Jockey: George Smith lived at Washwells, a hamlet nearer the village, in a cottage roofed with corrugated iron. He worked as a casual labourer for any farm willing to employ him and spent his earnings on beer, invariably getting drunk on Saturday nights. The properties weren’t all in such a poor state, however, as the Edwardian lady, Mary Deane, wrote about occasional visits with Mrs Collis of St Patrick’s in May 1915, whilst her husband was serving in the Royal Marines during the First World War.[4] Mary Deane (allegedly the aunt Agatha in PG Wodehouse novels) described St Patrick’s in glowing terms: wonderful view, like Switzerland. They are making a rocky garden. Muriel Patricia Collis, wife of Charles Robert Hansler Collis, lived there for only a short time during the birth of their first child, advertising for an experienced under-nurse in a gentleman’s small country house.[5] They may have left a lasting consequence in Box, however, because the house was probably named by them at that time, and they used the name again for their house in Devon where Muriel Collis died in 1956.[6]
It appears that, subsequently in December 1927, certain rights in the properties were sold to the Chippenham Rural District Council. At first the reason for this transaction seems strange until 1934 when the Ministry of Health became involved.
The reason appears to be to acquire an interest for the purposes of water supply, the supply of spring water to parts of Box Village.[7] The water had been piped from Washwells to the Poynder Fountain for a number of years and the pipework was renewed in 1901.[8] The spring water flows less strongly these days but locals have anecdotes of collecting water cress from its clear, fast-flowing outlet in Washwells. In January 1937 the situation changed again when the council (then called Calne and Chippenham Rural District) sold the Rose Cottage, garden and land to Alfred Merrett. Meanwhile Fanny retained The Cottage
but didn’t live there and it was let to tenants.
The cottages seem to be passed on through different generations of the same family but the typical employments altered by 1911 to include a Stationary Engineman, horseman and butcher.
Northey Freehold Ownership and Separate Tenancy
The deeds of the Washwells area give an indication of the complexity of the land held by the Northey family. The whole area was mortgaged for £14,800 in 1906 shortly after the death of George Wilbraham Northey. It was then re-mortgaged at regular intervals in 1909, 1912, 1918, 1919 and 1922.[2] Some of the changes were due to deaths of the trustees dealing with the Northey estate and funding issues in the difficult circumstances for landlords in the period around the First World War.
The ownership of the properties was also complicated by the grant of a lease for 1,000 years on 30 October 1843 to Charles Newman and William Strange. Frances Browning (-20 February 1923), widow of George Browning, of Spring Grove, Church Lane (sometimes called Springfield Villa), inherited the residue of the leasehold interest of a part of Washwells. The two cottages (the subject of this article) were let to Messrs Wigan and Norris and later to Messrs Poulsom (in The Cottage) and Shewring (in Rose Cottage). She also acquired the lease of a different Washwells property which had been let to Robert Arthur Wall and later to Mr Mays. On Frances Browning’s death in 1923 she left the cottages and land at Washwells to her niece Fanny Moody.
Meanwhile, the trustees of the Northey estate decided to cut their losses and sell their remaining interest in the Washwells properties.[3] In 1923 they sold the freehold reversion (separate from the leasehold interest) to Frances Emma Minty Moody (1886-1971), wife of Corsham master printer and stationer Harold Wilfred William Moody, who lived at Station Road, Corsham. We get a marvellous impression of the properties in 1926 from Kathleen Harris, who lived at The Old Jockey: George Smith lived at Washwells, a hamlet nearer the village, in a cottage roofed with corrugated iron. He worked as a casual labourer for any farm willing to employ him and spent his earnings on beer, invariably getting drunk on Saturday nights. The properties weren’t all in such a poor state, however, as the Edwardian lady, Mary Deane, wrote about occasional visits with Mrs Collis of St Patrick’s in May 1915, whilst her husband was serving in the Royal Marines during the First World War.[4] Mary Deane (allegedly the aunt Agatha in PG Wodehouse novels) described St Patrick’s in glowing terms: wonderful view, like Switzerland. They are making a rocky garden. Muriel Patricia Collis, wife of Charles Robert Hansler Collis, lived there for only a short time during the birth of their first child, advertising for an experienced under-nurse in a gentleman’s small country house.[5] They may have left a lasting consequence in Box, however, because the house was probably named by them at that time, and they used the name again for their house in Devon where Muriel Collis died in 1956.[6]
It appears that, subsequently in December 1927, certain rights in the properties were sold to the Chippenham Rural District Council. At first the reason for this transaction seems strange until 1934 when the Ministry of Health became involved.
The reason appears to be to acquire an interest for the purposes of water supply, the supply of spring water to parts of Box Village.[7] The water had been piped from Washwells to the Poynder Fountain for a number of years and the pipework was renewed in 1901.[8] The spring water flows less strongly these days but locals have anecdotes of collecting water cress from its clear, fast-flowing outlet in Washwells. In January 1937 the situation changed again when the council (then called Calne and Chippenham Rural District) sold the Rose Cottage, garden and land to Alfred Merrett. Meanwhile Fanny retained The Cottage
but didn’t live there and it was let to tenants.
The spring outside Spring Cottage in the 1990s (courtesy Carol Payne)
In December 1933, Fanny Moody sold the freehold of the cottages to Alfred Merrett, a Box builder and contractor, for the sum of £260. Alfred Merrett didn’t just improve and sell on the property but merged the freehold and leasehold interests and retained them as a rental investment whilst he lived at other Box locations including Ashley Villas, Down Holme and Acton House.[9]
Rose Cottage on the left and The Cottage marked in red (courtesy Sheila Parker)
The Cottage, Washwells
The freehold of The Cottage was bought for £360 by Jack Ronald Perkins in 1944. He was the general manager of Murray & Baldwin. He already tenanted the property and took a mortgage from Lloyds Bank to purchase the freehold.[10] In 1948 Jack Perkins sold the freehold of The Cottage to Edgar Charles Smith of Henley Farm for £2,800. For the next decade, it was held as accommodation for agricultural workers at Henley Farm and passed in the ownership of different farmers. The farm connection was so strong that the address of the Washwell cottages was known as Henley Lane, rather than the Devizes Road. In 1953 Edgar Smith sold The Cottage to Ambrose Ernest Reginald Satchell (who was moving into Henley Farm) for £750.[11] He owned it until 1964 when it was bought by Robert John Moulton (of Henley Farm) for £1,500.
The freehold of The Cottage was bought for £360 by Jack Ronald Perkins in 1944. He was the general manager of Murray & Baldwin. He already tenanted the property and took a mortgage from Lloyds Bank to purchase the freehold.[10] In 1948 Jack Perkins sold the freehold of The Cottage to Edgar Charles Smith of Henley Farm for £2,800. For the next decade, it was held as accommodation for agricultural workers at Henley Farm and passed in the ownership of different farmers. The farm connection was so strong that the address of the Washwell cottages was known as Henley Lane, rather than the Devizes Road. In 1953 Edgar Smith sold The Cottage to Ambrose Ernest Reginald Satchell (who was moving into Henley Farm) for £750.[11] He owned it until 1964 when it was bought by Robert John Moulton (of Henley Farm) for £1,500.
The Washwells area in winter (courtesy Carol Payne)
Robert Moulton held it for a year until it was sold to Richard Morkam Trounson, solicitor in the Bath firm of Moger, Campbell and Trounson, and his wife Madeleine Helen Trounson for £1,700 in 1965.[12] The cottages may have started as detached but in the mid-1900s they had been joined up. The Trounsons saw that the market was increasing rapidly and they kept it until 1968 when they sold The Cottage to George Ivor Trott (31 July 1918-1978) and his wife Stephanie Megan from Devon for £6,500, making a considerable capital gain. To mitigate the tax bill, the Trounsons moved into the property for a while.[13] George and Stephanie Trott saw the potential of the premises as a home for themselves. They borrowed £1,380 to fund the purchase and an additional £360 from the Co-operative Permanent Building Society to undertake improvements. They repaid the mortgage at the rate of
£5 and 7 shillings per month.[14]
£5 and 7 shillings per month.[14]
The premises joined up into a single residence (courtesy Carol Payne)
Rose Cottage
Alfred Merrett retained Rose Cottage and land until August 1951 when he sold the freehold to Charles Robert James Mark Herridge (of Washwells) for £200.[15] Because the name of the property wasn’t legally recognised it was identified as the property formerly in the occupation of Mr Shewring. After Charles’ death in 1965 his widow Caroline Herridge inherited it.
Alfred Merrett retained Rose Cottage and land until August 1951 when he sold the freehold to Charles Robert James Mark Herridge (of Washwells) for £200.[15] Because the name of the property wasn’t legally recognised it was identified as the property formerly in the occupation of Mr Shewring. After Charles’ death in 1965 his widow Caroline Herridge inherited it.
in July 1970 Caroline Herridge sold it to Jack Walter Francis of Bathford, who held it for a short time until selling the freehold for £600 to George Ivor Trott and his wife Stephanie Megan, who lived next door in The Cottage. After the merger of Rose Cottage and The Cottage by the Trotts, the properties were united, incapable of easy separation. Ken and Sheila Parker bought them in 1976 and over the last five decades have improved, extended them into the attractive residential family home seen today.
Conclusion
The story of The Cottage at Washwells reflects the changes in our society because of the surging value of housing. From tied agricultural labourers’ properties, the market value soared with the merger of freehold titles with vacant possession. Booming prices have enabled owners to improve and modernise their properties, often funded by the availability of personal mortgages. So much so that The Cottage and Rose Cottage today would be unrecognisable to occupiers only 50 years ago.
The story of The Cottage at Washwells reflects the changes in our society because of the surging value of housing. From tied agricultural labourers’ properties, the market value soared with the merger of freehold titles with vacant possession. Booming prices have enabled owners to improve and modernise their properties, often funded by the availability of personal mortgages. So much so that The Cottage and Rose Cottage today would be unrecognisable to occupiers only 50 years ago.
References
[1] Confirmed by JEB Gover, Allen Mawer & FM Stenton, The Place-names of Wiltshire, 1970, Cambridge Univeristy Press, p.86
[2] Abstract of Title, 1951
[3] Abstract of Title, 1951
[4] Patricia Whalley, The Shadow of Mary Deane, 2015, Corsham Print Ltd, p.44
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 23 January 1915
[6] The London Gazette, 22 January 1957
[7] Abstract of Title, 1951
[8] The Wiltshire Times, 17 August 1901
[9] Abstract of Title, 1944
[10] Abstract of Title, 1948
[11] Abstract of Title, 1964
[12] Conveyance, 23 April 1965
[13] Conveyance, 12 September 1968
[14] Further Mortgage Advance, 15 May 1970
[15] Conveyance, 25 August 1951
[1] Confirmed by JEB Gover, Allen Mawer & FM Stenton, The Place-names of Wiltshire, 1970, Cambridge Univeristy Press, p.86
[2] Abstract of Title, 1951
[3] Abstract of Title, 1951
[4] Patricia Whalley, The Shadow of Mary Deane, 2015, Corsham Print Ltd, p.44
[5] The Wiltshire Times, 23 January 1915
[6] The London Gazette, 22 January 1957
[7] Abstract of Title, 1951
[8] The Wiltshire Times, 17 August 1901
[9] Abstract of Title, 1944
[10] Abstract of Title, 1948
[11] Abstract of Title, 1964
[12] Conveyance, 23 April 1965
[13] Conveyance, 12 September 1968
[14] Further Mortgage Advance, 15 May 1970
[15] Conveyance, 25 August 1951