Rose Cottage

On the left is Ivy House. Then, near the bike is a cottage which was demolished in the 1980s. The white thatched cottage is Rose Cottage. This postcard dates from about 1950 or a little before. Rose Cottage is no longer thatched.

This house stands right by the pavement of the village street, but at right angles to it. It was formerly thatched, as old photographs clearly show. It is probably of eighteenth century date.

The cottage came very close to demolition in 1951. The previous year, Brixworth Rural District Council had identified six houses in the village as unfit for human habitation. Standards had risen and so many very old properties no longer measured up to modern requirements. Rose Cottage was one of these. It was owned and occupied by Miss Barber, who was 70 years old at that time. The demolition order was first put off for as long as she continued to live there. Then she was told she could stay if she raised the ceilings, which she promised to do. However the Medical Officer of Health seems to have insisted that the house was not suitable for a reprieve. But in April 1951 it was reported that Miss Barber had signed an undertaking to carry out the necessary repairs and renovations within six months. So the demolition order was finally cancelled.

One of Miss Barber's complaints was that she could not get a thatcher to see to the roof. Whether Miss Barber in fact carried out the improvements, as promised, and whether it was she who had the thatch replaced is not clear at present.