Tingewick Conservation Area

TINGEWICK CONSERVATION AREA Designated 1st January 1973

Essentially 3 landscape elements can be observed in Tingewick. First the overall setting of countryside, second the built up main street in the valley bottom and third the later, more expansive, housing on the slopes.

Pond

Tennis Court

Tingewick Hall

ST MARYS Pond Stowe View

Swimming Pool Manor Farm

COURT

St Mary Magdalen’s

Church

LANE Path (um) BM 114.84m

Tre brea

The Orchard

v 110.8m

CHURCH Red Cottage

The Orchard

CHURCH Path (um) Ash El Sub Sta Jukes House House Hillside StoweField View View Cottage Church Church

Court

View

Harvest View White House

Stratfo rd LANE S House

Chapelside BUCKINGHAM The Laurels

DROAD The Old Pond BM 101.71m

Ranmore Chapel White cott

Windrush Cott

The Villa Hillside

Buck House Buck Small Oaks Maytree Jasmine TingewickSunnydene Iona Ho Cottage 108.9m HouseCamelot The Bank The

Sun View

White Hart The Old Chapel Old Lucas Thatch Stonebanks Bank Cottages The Retreat Eagle Old

House Cottage The Old Sunnybank The Red

House Cottage

Lavender Lawns Fe rn Cott Fe rn Ho

Cottage

Bakery Sunny

Lilac House Royal Two

ytree (PH) 100.5m Garage PO

LB Oak Bicester

Deepdene Wayside BM LB ages House 105.6m The Sunday Mentmore

Noggin OLD FORGECLOSE 103.18m BM 105.81m PINFOLD YARD School Nash Folly

Heritage House Church 104.5m View MS MAIN STREET The Firs Shelter

102.2m

BM 103.1m Cottage PH Crawford Corner TheOld Police Yew Tree Cottage Cottage Primrose STRANGERS LANE

Tudor Ancient Lights TCB Newlands Highbury The Cottage Hollies Harbour Lights 104.39m Kimble Bethany

House House House House

Cottage Cherry Tree Cottage

Tre garlan d

Buckley Cott

Broadway

Hall LANE CROSS The Crawford

Cottage Garden STOCKLEYS LANE

Lark Gorrell Lane Rise high We st ward WEST WELL CLOSE Tudor Barn bank El Sub Sta

Rose Cottage The R oost Tingewick

Deeside

GORRELL

Sunnyside

Infant School Ridgeway

Glendale Halez CLOSE Hillcrest

LANE Colston HICKMANS CLOSE

Braeside

House The Gambit Hawthorn Orchard Cottage WELL High View Lodge

The Cottage

Amberley

Triang le WEST

Holmswood

K LANE &

Parsonage Beech House 2

The

The Haven Farm v

The Mount Waring

Rookery UPPER STREET Little House ottage Hampton Cottage GORRELL LANE House Sion Terrace Beechview

Stable Tingewick Pottery House Tingewick Holy Brondesbury The Willows STREET House NEW

House Cottage Oak

Hill Hill

Farm Dormers Cottage

Garden Cottage Garden

Cottage Farm Tudor Ridge Cottage Wood Lane

El Sub (Tra

Sta ck)

MALTINGS

THE

Not to a recognised scale

OOD LANE

1 Tingewick Conservation Area

It is clear that the old village pattern of tightly built houses and cottages enclosing the main street is losing its appeal. The A.421 carries a considerable amount of traffic and now the desirable house is more secluded. However Main Street is still very much alive and contains the shops, inns, school, garages and many good buildings. It gives the village its character and must not be eroded.

The northern side of Main street is little spoilt and although the southern side has many blemishes the feeling of containment in the street is not lost.

On approaching the village from the west it appears suddenly as one breasts the rise; from here there are panoramic views over both the village and fields above it. One is conscious of trees in the setting of the village particularly those on the ridges and in the vicinity of Tingewick House.

Descending the road there are many fine views southwards across to the meadow and avenue which rise up to Rookery Farm. These views of field and farm are a feature which should be retained. The road junction with the Water Stratford road would be improved by some tree planting. Then at the entrance to Main Street comes a tight enclosure between brick and slate buildings. Those to the south are interesting in being paired (that to the north of the road has a haphazard elevation to the west which would be improved by a tar or whitewash, retaining the warm brickwork on the village side).

On turning round to face west the exit view is of a rising, bending road and a clump of trees. The last house to the south-west (whitewashed, at right-angles to the road) plays an important role as a stop to the village. Looking westwards along Main St. the end of the northern side of the village is marked by the red brick and slate building which is important along quite a stretch of road forming a successful stop after the low curving terrace.

Approaching from the east the village comes suddenly into view on rounding the bend just beyond its eastern limit. The entrance is a happy one: the road curves and distant from it at a higher level the straightforward architecture of the whitewashed RDC houses contains the eye until the old village comes into view. (It would be an improvement here to reinforce the single tree on this side of the road). Opposite, on the southern side, is sweeping meadowland with good hedgerows; the rooftops of the RDC houses in New St. are just visible on the ridge line. Approaching closer to the old village two buildings are important: the stone and thatch Old School and the pair of brick houses which mark the corner of Church Lane and effectively screen the two bungalows beyond.

On Approaching the village from the north it is hidden until one surmounts the rise. The view is a pleasant one of a village in a valley bottom with meadowland, hedgerows and trees stretching above it to the far ridge.

On Approaching the village from the south it comes into view across agricultural land earlier than from the other directions. On the gradual descent one sees the fields and hedgerows beyond the village and the church tower and group of trees at Tingewick Hall, but the recent development at the western end encroaches visually onto these slopes.

2 Tingewick Conservation Area

The entrance to the village proper is reached quite suddenly at a pleasant group of stone and brick cottages. On turning the corner West Well Lane has been widened but happily the old buildings still flank the lane’s junction with Main Street and frame the listed buildings opposite.

The northern side of Main Street remains intact with fronts dating mainly from C.18 and C.19 with three recent bungalows. The first impression is of a terraced street but in reality there are breaks and a few houses are detached. It reads as coherent groups. The materials often vary from one building to another being mainly brick and slate at the east end with some tile; at the west end brick, stucco, stone and whitewash are mixed, and tile and thatch predominate. The whole is unified by being built close up to the pavement and having a common scale; this is generally two storey but builds up at the west end with rising ground floor levels to the larger scale of the “Royal Oak”, and towards the east and there are a few 3rd floor dormer windows.

This long façade has great charm which lies in its unity, its simplicity, and in such details as its lengths of raised pavement or raised gardens, in the focal point at the setback which follows the narrowing by the long brick terrace at the east, the Victorian iron railings and the brickwork with dark headers. The shops are not detrimental to the façade and the small post office and butcher’s shop are real assets visually. The three bungalows are all set well back from the street up the slope; two of them create gaps in this long elevation by not retaining high screens to the pavement but the third one has both wall and hedge, “The Royal Oak” PH (listed grade 2) has been much altered and at present is best seen in gable view.

The southern side of Main Street is mostly stone or whitewashed in contrast to the northern side of mostly red brick buildings facing the sun. It has suffered much environmentally. The western end is still very good with a cluster of low, thatched and tiled stone cottages and a fine mature chestnut tree. At the eastern end is another stone group at the narrowing opposite the brick terrace.

Unfortunately, both between these two areas and also at the eastern entrance to the street, there are many blemishes. Three petrol filling stations (one being also a coach hire firm) create gaps and two of these sites have advertising clutter and refuse. The car parking spaces in front of the Village Hall and opposite the “Royal Oak” create together a gap too wide for the scale of the street.

On the corner of Cross Lane is a whitewashed late C.19 house set well back from the road. Perhaps this once formed part of an interesting widening here as two buildings are shown alongside on the 1923 Ordnance map, but these are now gone. The long gap in the street façade here is now bleak but could be improved with planting.

The school is a good Victorian brick design of 1874 with blue brick and Portland stone dressings, the later extension is less in keeping. From the street are glimpses of the playing field behind with Upper St. houses silhouetted above.

Between all these elements on the south side are some poorly maintained buildings (also two which have been reroofed with green pantiles which fit badly in Tingewick).

1 Tingewick Conservation Area

Some of these poorly maintained areas are included in the Conservation Area as they could be rehabilitated, but it was not thought possible to include the whole of the south side of the street.

Upper Street lies above Main Street to the south. It curves between the 3 north-south linking lanes. The area at the eastern end is attractive, of small scale mainly terraced cottages, mostly of stone and thatch. Views westwards from here are closed by the high, stone garden wall of Tingewick House. Here are two large C.19 houses in gardens with specimen trees.

Further westwards are small C.19 villas, 3 recent bungalows and one stone and thatch cottage and barn. The area has little cohesion visually.

The Lanes. The 4 small link roads: Stockley’s Lane, Cross Lane, West Well Lane,, and Stranger’s Lane have good individual buildings, or groups, at their extremities but new housing has been built along all or part of the centre stretches. This, together with general increase of traffic has contributed to the need for the road widening which has taken place in recent years.

Shockley’s and West Well Lanes have now lost their rural character. The relatively little used Cross Lane still remains delightfully bosky and rural with views across to fields on the northern side of the village. Strangers Lane too is rural with its banks and trees but it also houses some industrial activity which increases its traffic and parked cars, (road improvements have now been carried out here, and the banks and trees removed).

Eastwards from Upper St. lies New Street a cul de sac of inter-war RDC houses. Southwards lies Wood Lane an unspoiled, wooded country lane with fine views southwards at its end.

Church Lane rises and curves to the church, Tingewick Hall and farm. It contains some fine stone buildings on the steep street and a brick one which fits well. Two bungalows mar the scene.

Buckingham Street contains RDC houses of pleasant simple design, mainly whitewashed. The wartime prefabs on the site above have now been demolished and it is planned to redevelop this site with RDC housing.

Stowe View to the north-west is a post war RDC estate which fits its site less happily and stands out on the hillside.

The village contains 4 buildings on the statutory list of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest and 7 properties are mentioned on the Supplementary list.

February 2008