Old Warden, Bedfordshire

Architect appointed: Whitworth Co-Partnership
Works instructed: February 2006
Available from: 26 March 2007

Keeper's Cottage, a lovely cottage orné, was built as part of Joseph Shuttleworth's improvements to the estate at Old Warden in Bedfordshire that he acquired in 1872.

Keeper's Cottage was built by local architect and builder John Usher in 1877 - 1878 to house the head keeper, with kennels for his dogs. Times change, however, and deep in the ferny pine woods of the warren, the cottage became stranded and derelict. 

The Shuttleworth Estate approached us to ask whether we could help with two buildings on the estate, this and Queen Anne's Summerhouse which stands nearby.  

Thanks to the generous support from the Shuttleworth Trust, English Heritage, a legacy and a private donor, we have been able to install water and electricity, repair the roof and pretty timberwork and by repairing the outbuildings and keeping the interior arrangements as little changed as possible, revitalise this remnant of late-Victorian estate life.  

We are now taking bookings for Keeper's Cottage which is available for up to 4 people from 26 March 2007. For further details please contact the Booking Office or visit our Building search page.

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