Built during the reign of George II, the building has been used for many purposes and has witnessed many events in British history. Constructed in 1756 at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and the start of the Seven Year War with France, the cottage has 'lived' through the American War of Independence, the Battles of
Waterloo and Trafalgar, as well as being reigned over by monarchs such as George III,
George IV, William IV, Queen Victoria and Edward VII.
The cottage stands at a junction where the old routes
between Nottingham to Derby and Coventry to
Gainsborough crossed. In days gone by the latter track,
now Baulk Lane (an ancient Anglo Saxon name for
boundary), must have been the more popular as it is this
that the cottage fronts onto as can be seen in the
Map of 1882 and this photograph taken in 1903.
Constructed in brick with plain tile roofs (originally thatched), complete with
shouldered coped gables (originally with balled finials), the cottage was built, we
believe, as an estate manager's house for a 40 acre estate belonging to Harlaxton Manor House near Grantham.
The Cottage is now a private home, set in 1/4 acre, most of the land having been sold off for housing many years ago. There is evidence of use at the turn of the century as a nursery with many greenhouses on the land. In the 1930's its use again reverted to the textile trade with hosiery being made here.
In the late 1980s, the house and land fell into disrepair
and by 1987 the Cottage was in a very poor state. Bought
at auction at this time, extensive restoratation has taken
place including new roofs, floors, windows, damproofing
and removal of ceilings to provide 'cathedral' aspects to
all upper floor rooms. Whilst major works have now been
completed, (see works homepage), many smaller projects
are either underway or queuing for attention -
Listed by Nottinghamshire's Historical Building Records as Grade II in 1987, the Cottage still retains the Yorkshire horizontal sliding sash windows which were typical of this type of building in the 18th century.
The name Holly Cottage is not original - to date we have been unable to ascertain
its age old title or address!
Extensions to the cottage in the mid 19th century
more than doubled the size of the building and
provided work areas for frame knitting machinery,
a domestic industry that was common in Bramcote
at the time. This is evident by the size of the
windows in the upper part of the extension that
was designed to let in as much light as possible.
