Oakhurst Cottage facts for kids
Oakhurst Cottage is a small, old house located in Hambledon, a village in Surrey, United Kingdom. It was built a very long time ago, either in the 1500s or 1600s! This makes it a really special place. It's so important that it's a Grade II listed building, which means it's officially protected because of its history and unique design.
In 1954, this charming cottage was given to the National Trust. This is a charity that looks after historic places and natural beauty spots for everyone to enjoy. People lived in Oakhurst Cottage until 1983. Today, it has been carefully restored. It now looks just like it would have when a working-class family, often called a labourer's family, lived there during the Victorian era. This was a period in history from 1837 to 1901, when Queen Victoria ruled Britain.
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Discovering Oakhurst Cottage's Past
This old building might have started its life as a barn, a place where farmers kept animals or stored crops. However, the cottage we see today was definitely built in the 16th or 17th century. Imagine living in a house that's hundreds of years old! People continued to live in Oakhurst Cottage right up until the 1980s.
After that, it was carefully brought back to life. It was furnished with items that show how a labourer's family would have lived. This helps us understand what everyday life was like for ordinary people long ago.
A Gift to the Nation
In 1954, the Allfrey sisters kindly gave Oakhurst Cottage to the National Trust. Even after it was given to the Trust, their tenants, Elsie and Ted Jeffrey, continued to live there. They stayed in the cottage until Ted passed away in 1983.
The garden around the cottage is also very special. It's filled with plants that were popular during the Victorian era. Because Oakhurst Cottage is quite small, you can only visit it by making an appointment. Also, groups visiting must be small, with no more than six people at a time. This helps protect the cottage and gives visitors a better experience.
Exploring the Cottage's Design
Oakhurst Cottage has two floors. It is built with a strong timber frame, which means its main structure is made of large wooden beams. The spaces between these timbers are filled with bricks that have been colourwashed, giving them a painted look. The roof is covered with tiles.
On one side of the cottage, there is a chimney, and at the back, there's an extra section called a wing.
Inside the Cottage
When you step into the kitchen, you'll see a floor made of quarry tiles. These are strong, unglazed tiles often used in older homes. There's a big brick fireplace, perfect for cooking and keeping warm, under a large oak beam. You can also see examples of old china and household tools. These are like the ones a family living in a similar house would have used every day.
To get to the bedrooms, you climb a narrow staircase that leads up to the attic. The bedrooms have two gabled dormer windows. A "gable" is the triangular part of a wall at the end of a pitched roof. "Dormer windows" stick out from the roof. Some of the glass in these windows is very old and has a diamond pattern held together with lead.
The Garden and Outbuildings
Outside in the garden, there's an outhouse. This was where the toilet was located in older times, as bathrooms weren't usually inside the main house. There's also a small barn. This barn holds a collection of old garden tools and other tools that workmen would have used. It helps complete the picture of what life was like for a labourer and their family.
