Heritage projects often focus on grand designations and fine detailing but sometimes, it’s the quiet oddities and accumulated quirks that give a building its soul. This was certainly true of June’s Cottage, a 16th-century timber-framed house in Nettlebed, South Oxfordshire District Council area, where a proposed family home required subtle changes to modernise its use while preserving its personality.
This Grade II* listed building had already seen centuries of adaptation. Originally built in the 1500s, extended in the 18th century, and later remodelled with a rear extension around 1964, June’s Cottage bears the layered hallmarks of continuous domestic use. It has two staircases, two chimney stacks, and once functioned as two dwellings, factors that now contribute to its rich and slightly eccentric character.
Understanding significance, not just structure
While some changes, such as wall removals and fireplace loss, had diluted the historic plan, others had added unexpected charm. One ground-floor fireplace had been removed, internal walls had been reconfigured to enlarge rooms, and modern flooring and an en suite added. While these changes had altered the historic plan, they had not erased the building’s significance.
That’s because a building’s heritage value is rarely found in a single feature or moment in time. Instead, it lies in the cumulative story told by its materials, structure, setting, and yes, even its quirks. June’s Cottage retains exposed roof timbers, visible timber framing, wall plates, and steep, characterful rooflines. These elements continue to express its evolution, style, and function, preserving a legible and authentic historic character despite adaptation. Quirky features like mismatched wall panelling, varied window treatments, and asymmetrical room divisions had become part of the house’s lived identity.
Our role was to help the prospective owners understand what mattered most from a heritage perspective, and what changes might be possible. Importantly, much of the proposed work focused on the later 20th-century extension, where the impact on the original fabric would be minimal.
Small moves, big impact
The key proposals included modestly extending the kitchen by a metre or two into the garden, tweaking the roofline to introduce light, and improving garden access. Internally, they proposed repairing and realigning a damaged partition wall in the upstairs bathroom and lightening dark panelling in the master bedroom with reversible finishes.
Each intervention was designed with reversibility, readability, and light-touch repair in mind, hallmarks of sustainable heritage adaptation. What tied them together was a commitment to ensuring the home could serve a modern family without compromising its historic value.
Designing with Significance in Mind
Working with a building like June’s Cottage is as much about respecting its oddities as it is about preserving its form. By embracing the imperfections and idiosyncrasies, rather than stripping them out, the proposed works promise a future for the house that’s both liveable and legible.
As always, early consultation, with planners, with Historic England, and with heritage consultants, makes all the difference. The right changes, in the right places, ensure that even the most unusual buildings can remain both loved and listed for generations to come.
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