It is not easy to estimate its age, because it is not shown on maps of Langham before the Tithe Map of 1836. What appears to be a bricked-up window on the west gable-end suggests it may have been built before 1696, when the Window Tax was introduced. However, the bricking-up may have been done whenever the single storey extension was added, since the line of its roof cuts across the bottom left hand corner of the window.
The view to the rear is of the field Lanpro wish to see built upon.
Langham used to be divided into two parishes, each with its own church: Langham Parva to the west and Langham Magna, or Bishop’s Langham, or Langham Episcopi, to the east.
The name ‘Astley Cottage’ suggests that the original pair of cottages was built by one of the owners of Astley Hall in Langham Parva, presumably to house workers on the estate. Astley Hall was first mentioned in 1368; in 1472 Edward IV granted Holewell Hall (also now vanished) to John Astley, Esq. The genealogy of the Astleys is described here.
The Astleys are still very much a part of the local scene. The current and 23rd Baron Astley (born 1960) is Lord Hastings, who took over the Astley Estate at Letheringsett in 1998; among his other enterprises is Back to the Garden, the farm shop on the A148 just outside Holt.
We are most grateful to Wendy and Robert Jones for their kindness in letting us visit and photograph their home. If you have a house that you would like to see profiled here, especially if it has some history or interesting architectural features, do please get in touch. The idea is to let everybody understand what treasures we have here in Langham and, sometimes, to allow a peep at rear elevations or gardens of properties we know only from their outward faces.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please remember to be polite. Any comment with incendiary content will not make it through moderation.