Historic Research and Level 3 Homebuyer Survey, Shropshire

Evans & James were asked to provide Historic Research and Building Surveying services to a client in the process of purchasing a cottage set within 4 acres of ground in Shropshire. The property is located adjacent to a Grade II listed Mill and Mill House.

The client was interested in extending the cottage and converting outbuildings into residential use upon completion of the purchase and in the first instance required our assistance in providing evidence that the property was not curtilage listed to the Mill and Mill House. This evidence would enable the client to demonstrate to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) that a Listed Building Consent application would not be required. The LPA required evidence via historic research that the cottage had been separated from the same land holdings as the Mill prior to listing in 1984.

Our initial first port of call was to contact Land Registry, however, the properties had not been registered until post the listing date and they held none of the original documentation relating to the registration. Searches of the Shropshire Archive revealed no deposits indicative of a title deed for the property and there were very few deposits relating to the Mill. Tithe maps showed that the properties were one parcel of land in 1902. We therefore looked to newspaper archive to help us, with a 1943 auction listing stating that a detached cottage was included within the sale of the Mill. By the 1960s and 1970s listings for the Mill make no mention of a detached cottage. The strongest evidence of the separation prior to listing was an advert in 1976 for the sale of the cottage itself. The LPA, based on our evidence confirmed that the cottage would not be regarded as curtilage listed.

Following this success, Evans & James were instructed to undertake a level 3 Homebuyer survey for the property prior to completion of the purchase. You can find out more about our services relating to Homebuyer surveys here