All Saints Cottage, Canterbury

All Saints Cottage, Canterbury
"elaborate carved brackets in the form of fabulous beasts"
Typehouse
LocationCanterbury, Kent, England
Coordinates51°16′49″N 1°04′43″E / 51.2804°N 1.0786°E / 51.2804; 1.0786
Built16th century
Architectural style(s)Vernacular
Governing bodyPrivately owned
Listed Building – Grade II
Official nameAll Saints Cottage, All Saints Court
Designated3 December 1949
Reference no.1277836
All Saints Cottage, Canterbury is located in Kent
All Saints Cottage, Canterbury
Location of All Saints Cottage, Canterbury in Kent

All Saints Cottage, on All Saints Lane, in Canterbury, Kent, England is a building dating from the 16th century. Its origins and original purpose and configuration are all uncertain; it may have been designed as a single house, or as a range of smaller cottages, or have served some commercial or religious function. It is built of timber, and has two storeys, the upper level being supported on joists and brackets carved as "fabulous beasts". All Saints Cottage is a Grade II listed building.

History and description

All Saints Cottage dates from the 16th century.[1] It is of timber-framed construction,[1] described by the Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society as one of the best-surviving of its type in the city.[2] The original purpose and configuration of the building is uncertain. The society suggests that it was built as a staging point for pilgrims, associated with Eastbridge Hospital.[a][2] A survey undertaken in 2007 by the Canterbury Archaeological Trust noted the traditional theory that All Saints had been built as a row of up to six independent cottages but discounted this as unlikely due to the existence of a single staircase linking the lower and upper floors.[5]

The building comprises a two-storey range, the upper floor extending over the street and supported by joists with corbels elaborately carved in the forms of "fabulous beasts".[b][1] A staircase leads from the lower to the upper floor, which consists of a single room, 77 ft in length.[2] The trust's 2007 report indicates that the upper storey was originally subdivided, although interconnected, and suggests that it may have initially been used for storage, with the ground floor functioning as a row of shops.[6]

By the 20th century the site, then configured as individual dwellings, was derelict and was restored by Walter Sidney Cozens, son of Walter Cozens, an amateur architect and founder of the Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society. It subsequently served as a Youth Hostel and then as the Woodman School of Dancing. In the 21st century it was reconverted into a private house.[7][2] All Saints is a Grade II listed building.[1]

  • The entrance to All Saints
    The entrance to All Saints
  • A side and front view
    A side and front view
  • All Saints seen on the right hand side of All Saints Lane
    All Saints seen on the right hand side of All Saints Lane
  • Bracket carving
    Bracket carving
  • Bracket carving
    Bracket carving
  • Bracket carving
    Bracket carving

Notes

  1. ^ Canterbury was a noted pilgrimage site, visitors being drawn to the place of the martyrdom of St Thomas Becket.[3] The most famous such pilgrimage is recounted by Geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales.[4]
  2. ^ The cottage forms the street frontage of a larger structure, now termed All Saints Court, comprising the cottage itself, with brick wings to either side dating from the 18th century, and enclosing a garden which backs onto the River Stour.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Historic England. "All Saints Cottage, All Saints Court (Grade II) (1277836)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "All Saints Court". Canterbury Historical and Archaeological Society. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Pilgrims' Way to Canterbury". British Pilgrim Trust. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  4. ^ "The Canterbury Tales". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Exploring Kent's Past - All Saints Cottage and All Saints Court". Kent County Council. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b Austin 2007, pp. 25–28.
  7. ^ Lonsdale, Sarah (4 September 2007). "Canterbury restoration is a heavenly idea". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 November 2023.

Sources

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