Gawcott Conservation Area

GAWCOTT CONSERVATION AREA Designated 18th July 1990

Gawcott is a small village standing on elevated land south of the River Great Ouse and west of Claydon Brook, one and a half miles south of Buckingham. The village is entered from Buckingham or Radclive to the north, along either the C.3 Buckingham Road or an unclassified lane, Radclive Road, from Tingewick or Preston Bissett to the west, along the C.29 road, or from the east, along the C.3 Hillesden Road, from Hillesden and Lenborough.

Depot

OLD BARN CLOSE

Applewood Orchard clo se

Meadow View

Highfi Allotment Depot The

elds Catherines RADCLIVE HILLSIDE Ol d Bak ery Gardens Track Warran

House Blossom

The White House Gawcott Hill

Greenhaven ROAD Patticott Oa k Le a

Cluny Ga rde n Too Cottage CottagesHill Eagles

The Orchard Farmhouse Sing le House Croarken House Sunnyside Oa k Hall Red Lion House The Old Magpie Cottage Shelter

DoveCott House Grove House Lodge Stonelands

Fairview Bankside

Ediecote GP Cottage 106.4m MAIN Lace Cottage

BM 105.26m Grig We e do n 112.0m

Elmasor Churn Owl Cottage ille

The Charity Cottage

Ashridge Red BUCKINGHAM ROAD

The Old Dairy Til es Ballacraine Barracks 104.7m Charlottes Honeysuckle Cottage STREET Woodv MAIN STREET Cottage GU ILDFORD

Catherine

TCB

CLOSE Forget Cottage Enfielda 104.3m Me Not

Cott Cott Holy Trinity

Lyndale Kozy Church Cottage Church

Holy Trinity Holy

Rose pndee ry dleber Spin Cott The STREET Cornerstores Cottage Malvern Chapel CHURCH Cottage

Old Candleford LB Cott

CHURCH Cottage New Inn Cottage Shiralee Stores ESS The The Old Corner Stores Westerly Ashleigh The Long House

BACK STREET Yew Tree 108.1m

NEW INN LANE House GP Meadowbank Ash Tre e Brendale El Sub The Old Vicarage ST House Woodville Cemy Sta Heather Cooper’s Cottage Hatch PH Cottage Ivy The Old Coach Cott Spinney Limehaven Cottage House

End The Crown (PH) El Sub

COW LANE Lenborough Sta Trough Cottage Gul li

Manor Farm Orch THE RISE Clearhayes

Playground Westerly

110.4m

The

Gawcott Infant Ga bles Track

School

The oldest parts of the village, (which have remained largely unaltered), extend predominantly along Main Street, Church Street and Back Street. Post-war development has taken place in Buckingham Road, Radclive Road, Old Barn Close and Hillside, in the northern part of the village and also off New Inn Lane, Cow Lane and The Rise, at the western end of the village.

The village consists predominantly of two storey terraced houses and cottages abutting directly onto the footpaths which run the length of Main Street. The buildings, most of which are eighteenth or nineteenth century in origin, are constructed primarily of brick, some being roughcast or colourwashed. Many of the older but less numerous sixteenth and seventeenth century properties are of a rubble stone.

1 Gawcott Conservation Area

Despite its relatively small size, the almost continuous façade of brick and stone along Main Street, lends to Gawcott an urban quality quite distinct from surrounding villages and only matched locally by Great Horwood, some five miles to the east.

Uncharacteristically for the area, The Parish Church of Holy Trinity does not occupy a prominent position within the street scene, but rather, is screened by surrounding buildings and a high hedgerow along the southern side of Main Street. The Church was erected in 1827 by the Reverend Thomas Scott (father of the famous architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott who was responsible for the restoration of nearby Hillesden Church, amongst others). Rather plain in appearance, it was scathingly described by John Camp in his book “portrait of Buckinghamshire” as “hideous psuedo-Classicism”.

More prominent in the street is the Methodist Chapel, on the corner of Main Street and Back Street. The building fronts onto the small village green which tapers as it extends eastward along the southern side of Main Street, until, by Charlotte Cottage, (Grade II listed) it becomes little more than a narrow grass verge.

Fine townscape views are afforded within the village: south along Buckingham Road to its junction with Main Street; north west-ward along Main Street, towards Single House; and north east-ward from New Inn Lane to its junction with Main Street, between Lace Cottage and the Old Bakery House. Also contributing to the fine setting of the village are the landscape views out across the surrounding fields, from Hillesden Road, Buckingham Road, south from Main Street and south-westerly from Church Street, between the Vicarage and Gawcott County First School.

September 2008