THE owner of a Grade II listed building, which has been destructively renovated many times, hopes to bring it back to life and reinstate some of its architectural features.

St Mary’s Cottage is the only residential dwelling in Church Row and is bordered by St Mary’s Church Hall and Thrings the solicitors, buildings of a similar or older age, but all forming an important part of St Mary’s Churchyard.

Isabel Gill states that internally the cottage is in a bad state. It has had no work of significance done on it for a long time, and the amenities are poor.

The walls are covered in concrete render causing damp problems by not allowing the stone to breath. She adds that all architectural detailing has been removed, with the exception of the staircase that has been poorly altered over the years.

Ms Gill said in her application to Herefordshire Council for listed building consent: “It is my intention to undo the damage of previous works, and to sympathetically restore the cottage using new but authentic materials, that will both allow it to breath, and insulate; reinstate architectural detailing including removing the imitation roof tiles and replacing with slate, replacing the sheet plastic roof lining for breathable insulation, and reinstating the label moulds and flat topped door hood to the front elevation, which research has revealed were integral.”

The application indicates there would be some re-modelling of the internal layout with the introduction of additional roof lights. The cellar will also become a habitable space with a limecrete sub-floor, on top of which the existing flagstones will be re-laid.

Church Row took shape during the post-medieval period when the density of development on plots in the town increased and urban renewal occurred.

The earliest known building on the row was the grammar school founded in the 16th Century on the plot adjacent to St Mary’s Cottage.

The building now standing in its place was erected in the early C19 and opened as a National School in 1806, it was later used as a Church Sunday School and is now known as St Mary’s Hall.

The 1861 the census notes St Mary’s Cottage as being occupied by Margaret Sloan, a school mistress at the adjacent National School, and her brother Alfred.

The cottage underwent complete refurbishment between 1972, when the building was first listed, and 1978 with detrimental loss of original finishes and architectural detailing.

The drip moulds, moulded windowsills, flat door hood and iron railings visible in historic photographs in 1972 were removed.

The application concludes: “The proposal represents an opportunity to considerably enhance the external appearance of the early 19th Century listed building both in its own right and as an element in the setting of adjacent listed buildings that will also contribute positively to the conservation area.

It therefore represents an opportunity for enhancing significance that should be welcomed.”

Comments can be made on the application P242725/L, via Herefordshire Council’s website, until January 12, 2025.