Grade II
Hall Lane Cottages, W of Birch Tree Farm
Hall Lane, Winstanley, Winstanley
Description
Probably C17 or early C18. Restored from the derelict property. (See images) Images by Derek Winstanley, by kind permission of Hilary & Jim Waring.
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My grandparents Thomas & Annie Winstanley lived in Fir Tree Cottage from about 1910. They can be found on 1911 Census. The house, when I went there up until 1967 when grandma died had no electricity, gas, or drainage. Heating was from the range in the living room. Lighting was from a paraffin lamp with a tall glass chimney and a mantle. The necessaries were done in a privy at the end of the garden which needed to be cleared out by shovel and wheelbarrow every few months. Upstairs was divided into two rooms. The bedroom ceiling was the reverse side of the stone that formed the roof. In winter there would be ice on the ceiling. At the back of the house, there was a lean-to wash house which had a brick built copper for boiling whites and an enormous mangle with large wooden rollers - great for squashing the fingers of inquisitive little boys! Grandma refused to have electricity installed. Both Thomas and Annie are buried in St Matthew Highfield. This picture must have been taken after 1967 when grandma died and sometime in the late 1980,s when the cottages were renovated. The cottage must originally have been the teacher's house as there was a doorway by the side of the fireplace which led into what had been the schoolroom next door. As a five year old I used to wander into bluebell wood alone without concern. The old farmhouse opposite was occupied by two spinster sisters Lily & Ethel Fouracre. As a child I thought they were called Forrekkers as this was how their name was pronounced.
John Winstanley
