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Cobwebs Cottage, Ampthill

In the mid-1780s, John Fitzpatrick, the 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory, led a campaign to improve Ampthill's town centre. Amongst the improvements was a row of cottages built in Woburn Street in the fashionable 'cottage orné' style between 1812 and 1816 to house his estate workers.

 

The cottage shown was built in 1816 (the year after the Battle of Waterloo) as indicated by the plaque that also displays the Earl of Upper Ossory's cypher.

 

'Cottage orné' meaning 'decorated cottage', refers to a movement of 'rustic', stylised cottages of the late 18th and early 19th century during the Romantic movement, when some sought to discover a more "natural" way of living as opposed to the formality of the preceding baroque and neo-classical architectural styles.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampthill

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_orn%C3%A9

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Uploaded on December 13, 2016
Taken on November 13, 2016