Milton Ernest Character Assessment January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) TROY PLANNING + DESIGN www.troyplanning.com Office: 0207 0961 329 Mobile: 07964149559 Address: 3 Waterhouse Square, 138 Holborn, London, EC1N 2SW P 2/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) Contents 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 4 2 HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................. 7 3 THE APPROACH IN THIS CHARACTER ASSESSMENT .................................. 15 4 CHARACTER AREAS ....................................................................................... 19 5 HISTORIC MEDIAN ........................................................................................ 23 6 HISTORIC EASTERN ....................................................................................... 26 7 PRE-60S .......................................................................................................... 30 8 70S-80S .......................................................................................................... 33 9 80S-90S .......................................................................................................... 37 10 VILLAGE EDGE ............................................................................................... 40 ANNEX 1 - LOCAL MATERIALS ..................................................................... 43 ANNEX 2 - LOCAL ARCHITECTURE ............................................................... 44 ANNEX 3 - TEXTURES & MATERIALS ............................................................ 46 ANNEX 5 - SIGNAGE & OBJECTS ................................................................... 48 ANNEX 4 - ROOF TYPES ................................................................................ 48 ANNEX 6 – GARDENS, BOUNDARY TREATMENTS, GREEN FEATURES ...... 51 ANNEX 7 - VIEWS & LANDMARKS ................................................................ 55 SOURCES ........................................................................................................ 58 P 3/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) 1 Introduction 1.1 This is the Milton Ernest Character Assessment (CA). A character assessment is a document that describes the distinct appearance and feel of a settlement or an area. It communicates the key physical features and characteristics that combine to give a particular settlement or an area its local distinctiveness and unique identity. 1.2 The CA was prepared to inform the Milton Ernest Neighbourhood Plan being prepared by members of the Neighbourhood Plan Working Group. This was undertaken through site visits and spatial analysis of satellite imagery and historic maps. 1.3 The CA sits alongside the Milton Ernest Neighbourhood Plan and specifically informs the policies relating to character areas, design and local heritage. It should be used by those wishing to bring forward development proposals within any of the character areas identified. Overview of the area 1.4 Milton Ernest is a village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Bedford itself (Figure 1). It had a population of 754 in 2001 that had risen to 761 according to the 2011 census. The village is situated on the east bank of the River Great Ouse, and is the site of Milton Ernest Hall, which was used as the United States Eighth Air Force's support command headquarters in the Second World War. P 4/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) 1.5 In terms of topography, the terrain has a slope between 40m in south west and 60m in north east (as shown in Figure 2). There is a low declivity between River Great Ouse and Rushden Road (38m to 48m) but with steeper gradients leading to the east and north of the village, particularly beyond All Saints’ Church along Thurleigh Road where the elevation towards the ‘Twinwoods’ Airfield is over 80m. P 5/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) Figure 1 - Location of Milton Ernest in relation to Bedford Figure 2 - Elevation points in Milton Ernest P 6/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) 2 Historic Development 2.1 Milton Ernest is located in North Bedfordshire and records date back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when the various manors were listed. The entry reads: "Middletone / Mildentone: Miles Crispin and William Basset from Hugh de Beauchamp; Thorgils from Nigel d'Aubigny; Reginald from Walter of Flanders; Ivo, Hugh de Grandmesnil's steward from Adelaide, Hugh de Grandmesnil's wife; a beadle from the king. Mill." 2.2 All Saints' Church was built between the 12th and 15th centuries and is Grade I Listed. 2.3 In more recent times, the village was distinguished for its relationship with Victorian architect, William Butterfield, who constructed and renovated a number of buildings including Milton Ernest Hall. Now a nursing home, it is known internationally by fans of musician and band leader, Glenn Miller, who was stationed there during World War II. P 7/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) Before 10861 2.4 The Bedfordshire Historic Environment Record [HER] contains information on the county’s historic buildings and landscapes. The record mentions several ring ditches in the parish. These are usually thought to be the remains of round barrows and so date to the Bronze Age. 2.5 One of these sits on a gravel terrace in the C-curve of the River Great Ouse west of Radwell Road and was visible on one aerial photograph, though not on other subsequent photographs. 2.6 There are a number of Iron Age sites in the parish. One of these is a collection of small irregular enclosures in an area from which slag, from iron working, and Iron Age pottery have been found when field walking. The site is north of Little Oakley Wood and south-west of Yarlswood. Another Iron Age site highlighted by field walking lies south-east of Wigney Wood on the east side of Thurleigh. 2.7 There is a site in the C-bow of the river Great Ouse opposite the junction of Radwell Road with New Road which may be Iron Age, or Romano-British, or both. It comprises a ring ditch within a rectangular enclosure, lies on a gravel terrace and is visible on aerial photographs. Some indistinct crop marks north of Thurleigh Road and east of the A6 seem to show a large rectangular enclosure "which may be Roman but this is unproven". A potential Roman occupation site has been identified just east of the railway line on the south bank of the river in the north of the parish where field walking has turned up Romano-British material. Milton Ernest in 10862 2.8 Milton Ernest was divided into six different holdings. The mill would have been a watermill on the River Great Ouse because windmills were unknown in England for about another century. 2.9 The population was around one hundred and ten, from which twenty eight were heads of household, a very large settlement in relation to the rest of the county where many parishes with much higher numbers of people today had perhaps fifty or so population in 1086. 1 Source: http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityArchives/MiltonErnest/MiltonErnestBefore1086.aspx 2 Source: http://bedsarchives.bedford.gov.uk/CommunityArchives/MiltonErnest/MiltonErnestIn1086.aspx P 8/59 January 2017 TROY PLANNING + DESIGN Milton Ernest - Character Assessment (THP174) Milton Ernest Hermitage (1271)3 2.10 Milton Ernest seems to have had a hermitage first mentioned in 1271, as part of Cauldwell Priory. Volume III of The Victoria County History for Bedfordshire, published in 1912, states: “In 1279 half a virgate of arable land and 6 rods of pasture, being part of this property, was held by the prior of John Erneys, Lord of the Manor of Milton Ernest or Harnesse for three masses for the souls of John’s ancestors”. 2.11 The Valor Ecclesiasticus was a survey of church lands made under King Henry VIII (1509-1547) prior to his dissolution of the religious houses and orders in England. 2.12 Hermitage Close is mentioned in the Inclosure Award for Milton Ernest of 1804 and in a sale catalogue of 1909 [X65/69-70] when it formed part of West Manor Farm. A note written in 1963 [CRT130/MiltonErnest1] states: “The site was apparently moated and it is now being excavated by local people. We do not seem to have any deeds relating to the site. There is no building marked on our earliest maps (1803)”. 2.13 "The excavations have uncovered a stone building, probably with only one room, containing a stone hearth at one end. In front of this building is a cobbled courtyard with the remains of wattle and daub outhouses on at least two sides. These outhouses probably served as stables and byres. A large part of the site inside the moat remains to be excavated and the surrounding fields also contain interesting features which may throw more light on the remains so far uncovered". Milton Ernest Vicarages4 2.14 The earliest description of the Vicarage at Milton Ernest is in a terrier of land belonging to the Archdeaconry of Bedford in 1608. The building is described as stone built with a thatched roof. It was five bays long and comprised: a hall, two parlours, a buttery and a kitchen downstairs with four chambers above and lofts above them. A barn of two bays' length stood outside, it was