Home > Cambridgeshire > Willingham > Duke Of Wellington Duke Of Wellington
	Picture source: Hania Franek
The Duke Of Wellington was situated at 55 Church Street. This grade-II listed pub closed in 2022.
Listed building details:
Summary An C18 public house, originally constructed as a row of cottages in the C17. Reasons for Designation The Duke of Wellington, an C18 public house originally constructed as a row of cottages in the C17, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons: Architectual interest: * for its surviving C17 and C18 vernacular architectural features, particularly the timber framed floor and roof structures along Church Street and the lower parts of the barn. Historic interest: * for its long, documented history as a public house from at least 1765, predating both the Beer Act of 1830 and the major period of public house construction at the end of the C19; * for the evidence found in the original roof structure of its early function as a row of small cottages. History The Duke of Wellington public house is likely to have undergone its first phase of construction in the mid- to late-C17. There is a structural division at first floor and attic level between the west and the central bays of the street-facing range, suggesting that it may originally have been planned as a row of separate cottages. It was first recorded as a public house in 1765 when it was known as The Warriors. The 1837-1841 tithe apportionment for the parish of Willigham shows that the building had already been renamed the Duke of Wellington by that date. The same records show that the building was then owned by James Chivers and occupied by William Raven. The 1841 tithe map shows the long-street facing range along church street with an extension to the rear at the east end. There was a separation between the pub and the barn at that date. Across the rear yard, diagonally opposite the north-east corner of the barn, was an L-shaped outbuilding of unknown function. That building was still evident in 1886, 1901, 1924 and 1974 when it appeared on successive 25" Ordnance Survey maps, but had been demolished by at least the late 1990s. In 1851 George Lack, Carpenter, along with his family and an apprentice were all resident at the Duke. By the 1880s the west end of the street-range had been extended to connect with the rear barn. In 1897 the building, which then belonged to the Cottenham Brewery, was auctioned alongside the brewery itself. It was described as having a 'large and well-planted Garden at the back, together with the Wheelwright’s Shop and other Outbuildings', and was tenanted by Jane Robinson, its long serving landlady. The wheelwright may have made use of the outbuilding that is no longer extant, or the barn on the western boundary of the site. The building has been altered over time in various respects. The street range shows a history of brick repairs and had some evidence of altered window and door openings (the windows themselves are late-C20 or early-C21). The roof over the street range was originally covered in thatch, possibly resting on fleeking, but is now covered in plain tiles. The roof structure, however, is largely original. The rear extension at the eastern end of the ground floor was constructed between 1974 and the late-1990s, replacing an earlier extension in the same location. Internal alterations are also evident. The ground floor today (2023) has two large bars along the street range but historically was divided into smaller areas. The bar counters and fittings date to the early C21. Most of the historic chimney breasts remain in situ but none survives with an historic fireplace. The chamfered spine beams that support the first floor joists have been stripped of their paintwork. The ground floor level has been lowered in the two western bays of the street range. The attached barn that stands at right-angles to the street range is a multi-phased structure. Some elements of its frame may date to the C18. The roof structure has been reconstructed in the C20 above the level of the tie-bars. Within the southern bay of the barn is a single-storey free-standing structure that forms part of the late-C20 kitchens of the pub. Details An C18 public house, originally constructed as a row of cottages in the C17. MATERIALS The principal building materials are red brick and elm, with roofs covered in plain tiles or corrugated sheet metal. PLAN The public areas of the building are at the ground floor with services to the rear and a landlord's flat above. EXTERIOR The principal elevation faces south onto Church Street. It is four bays wide and one and a half storeys high. The ground floor has two central entrances with a pair of C20 or C21 margin-light horned sashes on each side of the doorways.The brickwork shows signs of alteration and repair with patches of older, rougher brick alongside renewed brickwork; some altered brickwork suggests the earlier location of a central doorway, and a different configuration of windows. There are four dormers at attic level, each with a pitched roof, small roughcast gable, and a pair of six-light casement windows. There is an end-stack to the right-hand side, and a ridge stack to the right of centre. The west elevation is largely shared with the immediate neighbour, but a small part of the west gable is visible. This is a rough-cast timber framed wall without any windows. The east elevation comprises the brick gable end of the street range and an attached, single-storey, late-C20 extension. The ground floor of the gable has a C20 doorway on the right hand side. Close to the height of the door lintel is an original brick string course. The upper part of the gable has been refaced in a later phase of brickwork, likely to be late-C19 or early C20. The C20 extension is a flat-roofed structure, built of brick laid in stretcher bond. It has small wooden windows and a large timber door on the north-side. A smoking shelter has been constructed as a lean-to addition on its west side. At the rear of the pub the single storey C20 extension stands on the left hand side with the barn on the right. Above the C20 extension there is a roof terrace accessed by a weatherboarded dormer with a pair of French doors. The barn is connected to the street range by a C19 extension with a pitched roof, and later C20 door and window at ground level. The rear of the street range has a gabled two-storey closet wing with C20 windows on both storeys and a doorway at ground level. To the left hand side of the doorway is the building's only C19 window, a small two-light casement. The barn stands perpendicular to the street range and is three bays wide with gabled ends and a pitched roof. The walls are covered in tarred weatherboard, and the roof is covered in corrugated sheet metal. The north gable is blank. The south gable, where it rises above the C19 extension, has weatherboards set diagonally below the apex. The long east elevation has a central double-doorway hung on strap hinges and a deep-set window on the left-hand side. INTERIOR The interiors are divided between front of house, service areas, the landlord's flat, and the open parts of the barn. The front of house areas consist of two bars in the street range and a third area in the C19 link building that connects to the barn/kitchens. The two bars are each two structural bays in length and are separated by back-to-back hearths, which appear to have been built in the C19 and altered in the C20. The eastern bar has a C19 quarry-tiled floor and a central post marking the division of the structural bays. The western bar has a lower, C20, floor, and a post supporting a painted, reeded cross beam that marks an earlier partition. Some elements of the timber frame are exposed in the western wall. The bar fittings all date to the early C21. At the time of inspection (2023) the public area within the link building had been stripped of its ceilings, creating an open space up to the rafters of the roof. This area has an exposed Fletton brick late-C19 chimney breast with a later fireplace. The service areas within the flat-roofed eastern extension include the WCs and a ground-floor beer cellar. Within the western wing of the pub the kitchens occupy a series of spaces that include a structurally separate unit within the first bay of the barn. The staircase to the landlord's flat was constructed in the C19 and has an original cupboard formed of matchboard panels at its base. At the bottom of the stairs the floor is covered in C19 quarry tiles. The interiors of the flat have been modified in the C21 with all walls and ceilings lined with plaster. The rooms rise to the collar height of the roof, and each room has a dormer window. The fireplaces have been removed but the chimney breasts remain in situ. Most of the flooring has been covered in C21 laminate. There are two C19 reeded plank and batten doors with original latches. The western bay can only be accessed through a low doorway beneath the level of the tie beam. The original roof structure survives largely intact. It consists of common elm rafters, collars, side purlins and a ridge purlin. Some C20 sawn timber rafters have been added. Many of the original C17 timbers still have their bark. Clinging to the rafters are some remnants of historic thatch, and pieces of straw twine. The westernmost bay is almost completely sealed within the roof space by a lath and daub partition, partially opened on the north-side. Internally the barn is a single void with a concrete floor and a structurally separate, flat-roofed, kitchen unit in the southern bay. Its frame is exposed and is multi-phased. The earliest parts of its structure are likely to date to the C18. Some timbers appear to have been reused. C20 timberwork supplements and occasionally replaces elements of the original wall framing. The roof structure was entirely reconstructed in the C20, except for the gable ends.
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Picture source: Hania Franek