MEM24747 - Wootton Courtenay Poor House (Monument)

A building is shown on the Tithe Map for Wootton Courtenay at c. SS 9381 4338, on the western side of the churchyard. It is labelled 302, which the Apportionment describes as a poor house, owned by James Westcott and occupied by William Sage. [1] The building appears to have been demolished by the time the 25 inch 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed and the area occupied by the extreme western end of the building now occupied by the modern village store (MEM24746), with Jasmine Cottage sited to the north (MEM24772). [2] The poor house was presumably cleared from site before Jasmine Cottage was erected. It is not clear whether this was done to facilitate construction of the property, or advantage was taken of the newly available plot of land. [3] There was a workhouse in Wootton Courtenay in 1776, accommodating 16 people. [4] The poor house consisted of five cottages where Jasmine Cottage now stands. In 1864 it was listed as the "Late Poor House." An old resident of one of the cottages used to bake bread in an oven in the churchyard wall, possibly using peat. [5]