AA DES STAT old 9/6/00 5:14 pm Page 1 ABBOTTS ANN · 2014-06-24 · Abbotts Ann. Published by the...

ABBOTTS ANNVILLAGE DESIGN STATEMENT

A.D. 2000

AA DES STAT old 9/6/00 5:14 pm

CONTENTS

3 Introduction■ the village design statement

and its purpose

■ how it was produced

■ the aim of the document in the planning process

■ the location of Abbotts Ann

4 History■ a brief history of Abbotts Ann

■ the population of the village

5 Landscape and surroundings

■ the countryside surrounding the village

■ the character of Little Park

■ views into and out of the village

■ natural assets of the village

■ landscape guidelines

7 Pattern and content of the settlement

■ highways and footpaths

■ the water meadows

■ important open spaces

■ amenities

■ housing

■ trees, hedgerows and boundaries

■ design guidelines

11 Buildings and Materials■ the conservation area and

the old cottages

■ distinctive buildings

■ more recent development

■ layout, form and style

■ materials

■ design guidelines

16 Making good design work

16 References andAcknowledgements

COVER PICTURE:Two fat ladies andWilliam withEngland’s largestlime tree in Church Meadow at the heart ofAbbotts Ann.

Published by the Abbotts AnnVillage Design Team on behalf ofthe Abbotts Ann Parish Council.

Sketches by Cherry Irwin. Designed by The Wilkins DesignPartnership: 01264 710326.

Printed by The RomseyCommunications Group

2


The village design statementand its purposeThis Village Design Statement provides a description of the natural and man-made featuresof the village of Abbotts Ann that are regarded bythe members of the community as particularly distinctive.

The document provides a guide to ensure thatfuture development and change is managed torespect and preserve the character and distinctiveness of the village. It should thus contribute positively to protecting and enhancingthe special nature and qualities of the communitythat is Abbotts Ann today.

How it was producedAll the residents of Abbotts Ann were invited tocontribute to the design statement through publicmeetings, a questionnaire, surveys, workshopsand an exhibition. Then the document itself wasproduced by members of the Village Design Teamto reflect the views of the residents expressedduring this consultation process.

The aim of the document inthe planning processThe purpose of this document is to guide futuredevelopment by providing a descriptive framework on the distinctive features that haveshaped the village in the past and which areviewed as important today. It represents a distillation of the views of the residents ofAbbotts Ann that can be referred to by architectsand builders, and by the Parish Council and TestValley Borough Council when considering planning applications. This document was formally adopted by Test Valley Borough Councilas Supplementary Planning Guidance in April 2000.

The location of Abbotts AnnAbbotts Ann is a beautiful village set in the northwestern part of the Test Valley in Hampshire.Located 2 miles southwest of Andover and 15miles from Salisbury, it is one of a series of attractive villages that lie along the Pillhill Brook –a tributary of the River Test. A large part of the village lies within the Abbotts Ann ConservationArea, which covers most of Abbotts Ann andLittle Ann, including the whole of the old villageand the water meadows to the south of CattleLane.

INTRODUCTION

An aerial view of Abbotts Annfrom the southwest, showingthe village in the foreground

with Little Park beyond andAndover in the background.

The Abbotts Ann milestone onthe Salisbury Road.

3


HISTORYA brief history of Abbotts Ann

The village name Ann was derived from theCeltic river name ‘Anne’ meaning ‘Ash TreeStream’ (now known as the Pillhill Brook). Thefirst settlements in the area can be traced backto 50BC when the Atrebates cleared the forestsand cultivated the land. During Roman rule the

village prospered, and at theend of Dunkirt Lane a largeRoman Villa was built.Mosaics taken from this villaare now in the BritishMuseum.

The long, narrow and roughlyrectangular boundary is characteristic of WestHampshire chalk land parishes.Defined in Saxon times, orpossibly earlier, this shapeensured that Abbotts Ann hadits share of river, down landand richer waterside meadows.Before the Norman invasionthe land was granted to the

Abbey of Hyde and became known as AnnAbbatis (the ‘Estate on the River Anne belongingto the Abbott’). Little Ann was granted to theAbbey of Wherwell. After the dissolution of the monasteries the estatespassed back into secular hands.

In 1716 Thomas Pitt (the grandfather of WilliamPitt the Elder), the former Governor of Madraswho had bought the Manors of Abbotts Annand Little Ann, demolished the old church and

replaced it with the one we see today. TheChurch has the largest collection of ‘Virgins’Crowns’ in England.

In 1806, Robert Tasker settled in Abbotts Annand later took over the Blacksmith’s business.Tasker and his brother developed the first ironplough, which become so popular that they setup the Waterloo Iron Works in Anna Valley tocope with the demand. In 1831, Robert Taskerbuilt the school on its present site in the village,and leased it to the Revd. Samuel Best, theRector of Abbotts Ann. Built 39 years beforeeducation became compulsory, the school wasone of the first in England to take children of alldenominations.

Between 1915 and 1924 the Red Rice Estate,which included Abbotts Ann and much of thesurrounding countryside, was sold. In 1934 theGovernment bought Little Park for the new‘Land Settlement Association’, creating thelargest influx of population into the village sinceAD500. The settlers came mainly from northernEngland and Wales, and those who stayed onmade a permanent contribution to the village.

Of the 517 houses in the village, 107 have beenbuilt in the last 20 years. Today there is littleemployment in the village, but the land aroundit is still farmed as it has been for over twothousand years, allowing Abbotts Ann to retainthe peaceful setting that is typical of the farming villages of England. For further information on the history of Abbotts Ann seethe references on the back page.

The population of the villageOn the current (February 2000) Electoral Roll,the adult population of the parish is 1058, livingin 517 households. The number of children andteenagers is estimated at around 200. Most ofthe community has lived in the parish for overten years. Many of those who live in AbbottsAnn work in Andover or other parts ofHampshire, although an increasing number nowwork from home.

Nurse Rodbard outside No.64 Abbotts Anncirca 1890.

The mosaic floorfrom the Romanvilla at the top ofDunkirt Lane haspride of place inthe British Museum.

4


The character of Little ParkLittle Park lies to thenorth of the parish, ona ridge that forms thenorthern slope of thePillhill Brook valley. Theother boundaries arethe road to Monxtonto the north and theA303 and A343 trunkroads to the east. Thearea is a natural gapbetween the settlement of AbbottsAnn and the edge ofAndover town, withthe ridge hiding theurban development.

The designation ofLittle Park as a LandSettlement Area from1934 gave this area adistinctive character. It preserved the smallfield structure established by theEnclosures of the 18thcentury, created a varied and small-scaleworking agricultural landscape and provideddwellings that areappropriate in size andspacing to the small-holdings theywere built to serve.Today the remainingsmallholdings form onethird of the area and currently produce poultry and dairy products, fruit and vegetables.

Little Park is prime agricultural land (Grade2 and 3A). It featuresseveral ancienthedgerows and a smallarea of woodland. Italso supports a widerange of flora andfauna including rarearable weeds and anabove average numberof farmland birds.

LANDSCAPE AND SURROUNDINGSThe countryside surrounding the villageThe village of Abbotts Ann lies in the valley ofthe Pillhill Brook, and on either side of thebrook the ground rises over chalk hills anddown land onto a plateau with minor valleys.The surrounding land is mostly arable and isused mainly to grow cereal crops in rotationwith others such as oil seed rape. Trees andhedgerows dominate the landscape.

Along the Pillhill Brook there are watercressbeds and a trout farm. The Pillhill Brook is animportant tributary of the rivers Anton andTest, and also part of the beautiful and valuedchalk stream system of Hampshire. This system is vulnerable to change, and the environment of the Pillhill Brook and its associated water meadows represent animportant open space that should be maintained.

The farmland to the south of the brook is stillowned by the Abbotts Ann Estate. This areais a mixture of arable land and a patchwork ofwoodland and coppices, some of which aremanaged. Both large and small, these providea habitat for both flora and fauna, and it iscommon to see deer, brown hares and buzzards in the area. The contrast betweenthe open nature and the abundance ofancient trees in this countryside is an important distinctive feature of the landscape.

The northern slope of the valley provides abackdrop to the village and screens it from theA303 trunk road and the built-up area ofAndover that lie just over the ridge. Thisstretch of countryside is of strategic importance in marking the southwest extremity of Andover and maintaining the village identity of Abbotts Ann.

The village appears from all angles to have adefined boundary. This boundary mainly comprises mature trees and hedgerows, whichmake the village appear compact, despite itsdevelopment in a linear fashion. On the outskirts of the village there is the covered siteof a Roman villa, and also a Victorian viaductthat still carries the main railway line fromLondon to Salisbury and the South West.

Criss-crossing the parish are sixteen footpaths,two of which have only recently become‘rights of way’. Several are ancient, such asThe Drove, Green Lane and the Old CoachRoad. Most of the footpaths, which arebounded by mature trees and hedgerows, aremarked on all the old maps of the parish.

The woods around AbbottsAnn are vibrant with bluebells in the spring.

Ploughing for winter wheat onLittle Park Farm.

A Little Park settlement house inthe 1930s, above, and a similarhouse today.

5


LANDSCAPE AND SURROUNDINGS

Views into and out of the villageMost of the approach roads to the village are narrow country lanes, often flanked by hedgerows, trees andshrubs. Whether one enters by road, or by one of the footpaths, the approach is rural and trees largely hide the settlement itself. Within built up areas the many trees limitviews, and the sharp bends in the roads provide many visualsurprises. Tall trees that surround the church tower alsohide domestic buildings.

From the majority of vantage points on the edge of theparish, little of the village can be seen as it lies in a hollowand is screened by mature trees (alder, ash, oak and chestnut for example) and ancient hedgerows (includinghawthorn, blackthorn, elder, dog rose and spindle). Apartfrom the odd rooftop, outlying buildings and the churchtower, one would not know that there was a significant settlement within the surrounding countryside. From elevated points within the village, the high ground of thesurrounding countryside, with its open farmland and wooded areas, presents a rural and tranquil view.

Natural assets of the villageAbbotts Ann and the surrounding countryside arehome to a number of speciescovered by the HampshireBiodiversity Action Plan,including the skylark, Brownhare, water vole, and red hempnettle. Past gardening of thestream banks has destroyedwater vole habitat, and careshould be taken to leave thebanks of the Pillhill Brook asnatural as possible. The PillhillBrook is one of the last managed habitats in the RiverTest system for the wild browntrout.

The village from the Monxton Road: whenone enters the village the approach is ruraland trees largely hide the settlement itself.

Nowhere is the rural view from the villagemore important than to the north, wherethe rising ground of Little Park and theridgeline of Farm Road are all that screenthe village from urban Andover.

6


PATTERN AND CONTENT OF THE SETTLEMENTLANDSCAPE

GUIDELINES1 None of the existing

ancient hedgerowsshould be removed.

2 The mature treesand the footpathsshould be protected.

3 All of the woodedareas and pastureland thatform the openspaces should beconserved in orderto protect the habitats for thediverse flora andfauna; the harmonious balancebetween nature and people should be maintained.

4 The setting of the village should be protected. The natural gap betweenthe settlement ofAbbotts Ann and theurban area ofAndover should bemaintained, and consideration givento extending theConservation Areato encompass the important openspaces within thevillage and in thesurrounding countryside.

5 The distinctive character of LittlePark and the opportunities itaffords for horticulture andother small-scale farming should be maintained.

Highways and footpathsThe community has developed along throughroutes that cross in the centre of the village.Today all roads are metalled and some havepavements or grass verges. Characteristicallystreet name signs do not mark most of theroads in Abbotts Ann.

Most of the older properties in the centre ofthe village have no off-street parking, anddense car parking in Red Rice Road impedesbuses and other large vehicles. The narrow village streets make poor thoroughfares andare particularly unsuitable for Heavy GoodsVehicles. In any new development, the provision of off-street parking is vital, andwhere possible this should be hidden fromview. For the sake of safety, especially in thearea of the village school, it would be preferable to avoid a material increase in thetraffic flow through the village.

With the exception of lights outside the oldpeople’s bungalows at Bulbery and the attractive lamp posts along Church Path,there are no street lamps in the village andthis limits the amount of light pollution generated. This is widely regarded as animportant part of the character of the village,and the majority of villagers feel that furtherstreet lighting should be discouraged.

Many of the footpaths within the village andsurrounding countryside are historic and much-valued rights of way, some sport kissinggates. Existing footpaths should be maintained and consideration given to theaddition of a new footpath cut between LittleAnn and Cattle Lane and a second to runalongside the Pillhill Brook.

Important open spacesFields and other open spaces reach right intothe centre of the village enhancing its ruralatmosphere of quiet tranquillity and providingmuch of its character. These areas provide amixture of agricultural land (for both cropsand grazing), paddocks and playing fields.The water meadows adjacent to the churchand continuing between Little Ann and CattleLane are a much-loved feature of the village,as are the Glebe lands that lie east of the OldCoach Road. The open setting of the OldRectory, adjacent to the churchyard and thewater meadows, is one of the distinctive

Abbotts Ann Down (above), andthe water meadows (below), looking south towards the centreof the village from Cattle Lane.

7


1

7

2

3

4

5

6

Significant buildings

features of the village and should not beencroached upon.

The use of existing land for agriculture is importantboth in and around the village. The water meadows(including Church Meadow, the land north of theChurch Path with its majestic lime trees) and otheropen spaces within the village are vital to its character and should be preserved. In any futuredevelopment, care should be taken to protect theseimportant open spaces and the views they permit.

The natural environment of the village should be protected as far as possible. It is suggested that thePillhill Brook valley and the water meadows shouldbe maintained as open spaces. The further conversion of open water meadow into enclosedgardens, which has occurred in Little Ann, should beavoided.

AmenitiesMany of the amenities in the village – the war memorial hall, the post office and shop, The Eagle(with its function room and skittle alley in the 1865barn), the school and church – are important landmarks and their close proximity to each other inthe village centre encourages a sense of community.It is essential for the future of the village that these facilities remain. In Little Ann there is an engineering works, café, garage and the PoplarFarm Inn. The sports field at Bulbery has a footballpitch and netball area and there is a football pitchon the school field. The sports field provides thelocation for the annual village fete, whippet racing,Guy Fawkes night celebrations and sporting eventsbut is still underused. It could accommodate a tennis court if this was desired. There are a numberof public benches located within the village. Thereare posting boxes in Cattle Lane, Little Ann and RedRice Road and the traditional red telephone kiosk isin keeping with the character of the village. There isa recycling centre in the Poplar Farm Inn car park.Posts carrying overhead electricity and telephonecables detract from the pleasant rural picture. Thepresent schemes to bury these cables undergroundshould be encouraged, and further schemes toextend this initiative would further enhance theappearance of the village.

The school in the village is highly valued; it has limited space on its present site, and is unfortunatelysituated separate from its own playing field.Children use the small recreation area on the sportsfield, whilst The Drove is a popular play and meetingarea, and in the north part of the village there isplay equipment at the War Memorial Hall.

War Memorial Hall

Poplar Farm Inn

School House

The Manor

The Old Manor

The Old Rectory

St Mary’s Church

PATTERN AND CONTENT OF THE SETTLEMENT

Abbotts Ann oncesupported at leastthree shops. Now itis vital to the community that a village shop and Post Office should be supported and flourish.

The village schoolwas one of the first in England to takechildren of alldenominations.

8


KEYOpen countryside

Water meadows

Amenity land

Built onland

So-called‘GlebeLands’

Footpaths

Important landscape trees

ConservationArea

9

The Abbotts Ann section of the TestValley Tapestry

7

LLLL iiii tttt tttt llll eeee AAAA nnnn nnnn

A34

3 Sa

lisbu

ry R

oad

Church Path

64

5

32

1

The

Dro

ve

Dunkirt Lane

St John’s Cross

Monxton Road

AAAA bbbb bbbb oooo tttt tttt ssss AAAA nnnn nnnn

Cattle Lane

Watercress Beds

Red

Po

st L

ane

Pillhill Brook

Cattle La

ne

Gre

en L

ane

LLLL iiii tttt tttt llll eeee PPPP aaaa rrrr kkkk

Farm Road


DESIGNGUIDELINES

1 Care should be taken to maintain the areaof countryside between Abbotts Ann andthe A303 so that it remains a physical andvisible gap protecting the separate identityof Abbotts Ann.

2 The provision of sufficient off street parking is a necessity in any new development within the village. Wherepossible this should be hidden from view.

3 Further street lighting should be discouraged.

4 Existing footpaths should be maintained,and consideration given, to creating newpaths between Little Ann and Cattle Lane,and along the Pillhill Brook.

5 The water meadows (including the landnorth of the Church Path) and other openspaces within the village should be preserved. Further, there should be no additional annexation of water meadowland into enclosed gardens.

6 Agricultural uses of land should be encouraged.

7 Infilling between existing pockets of development should be controlled carefullyto protect the important open views andspaces in the village.

8 In any future development care should betaken to reflect the original pattern of the village in terms of layout and scale as wellas design and character.

9 Present schemes to bury existing overheadcables should be encouraged, and furtherschemes to extend this initiative would further enhance the appearance of the village.

10 Existing mature trees of landscape valueshould be preserved and maintained.Planting of new trees is to be encouraged,and existing trees should be replaced iffelled.

11 New boundaries should use traditional materials such as brick and flint, chalk or render with tile tops, white painted wooden picket fences, or hedges of beech,hawthorn, fir, privet, ivy, box, yew orblackthorn.

HousingMost buildings in Abbotts Ann are private dwellings. There is amixture of linear development along older roads but modernhousing is clustered in cul-de-sacs and closes. Trees and amplespace between these groups stop them from having the appearance of urban housing. However, the large houses inAbbotts Hill appear overpowering, especially when viewed frombelow and this road has a suburban feel. In any future development care should be taken not to distort the original pattern of the village in terms both of layout and design.

Trees, Hedgerows and BoundariesThe mature trees in Abbotts Ann are a vital feature of the village.The Jubilee Oak is a much referred-to landmark as are the majestic lime trees in the water meadows (one of which is thelargest in England). High deciduous trees provide a backgroundto house silhouettes, whilst the large numbers of very tall matureyew trees are characteristic of Abbotts Ann and preferable toconifers. Existing trees of landscape value in the village should bevigorously protected. The planting of new trees is to be encouraged, and any existing trees that require removal shouldbe replaced when felled.

Boundaries in traditional materials such as walls of brick, brickand flint, chalk, white painted wooden picket fences or hedges ofbeech, hawthorn, fir, privet, ivy, box, yew and blackthorn aremuch valued for their appearance. High tile-topped Hampshirewalls are an attractive feature of the village. The use of traditional materials for boundaries should be encouraged.

PATTERN AND CONTENT OF THE SETTLEMENT

A typical tiled cob boundary wall.

10


BUILDINGS AND MATERIALSA first impression ofAbbotts Ann is that ofa village of cottagesbuilt either of brickand flint withthatched roofs orwhite cob walls withslate roofs. Whilstthis is true of much ofthe old village, a closer look reveals avariety of architectural stylesranging frommedieval through Queen Anne,Georgian, Victorianand Edwardian tomodern. This varietyprovides a pleasingand interesting mix ofstyles and shows howthe village hasevolved. With sensitive design andsiting, most of themore modern houseshave blended into theold village andallowed Abbotts Annto retain its picturesque character.

ConstantiaCottage, Little Ann.

The OldRectory,Abbotts Ann.

Abbotts HillHouse, Little Ann.

Cattle LaneFarm, Little Ann.

11


The Conservation Areaand the old cottagesA large part of the village was designated a Conservation Area in 1981.The present Conservation Area coversmost of Abbotts Ann and Little Ann,including the whole of the old villageand the water meadows to the south ofCattle Lane.

A number of the old cottages date fromthe 17th Century and more of the fineold buildings from the 18th Century.However, a few may be medieval and atleast one (Pennymarsh) has a cruck timber frame. All but a few of the 46listed buildings within the ConservationArea are to be found on the roadthrough Little Ann to the centre of thevillage and on beyond the Jubilee Oaktowards Monxton, and on the road fromSt Johns Cross to the Pillhill Brook. Manyare built with brick and flint, and bluebricks were mixed with the soft reds toblend beautifully with the flint. Whilstthere are cob walls to be seen, the useof rendering on many cottages makes ithard to tell which walls are made ofchalk, and which are render coveringbricks or blocks.

Over the years many of the old buildingshave been joined together, renovatedand extended. Although many arethatched, there are some with slate roofsand tiles. The thatched roofs are madefrom either long straw or combed wheatreed and have a rounded appearance.Most have eyebrow shaped raised eavesover upper windows, and in some casesthe triangular corners of these raisedeaves have been glazed to give morelight. A distinctive feature of many cottages is the use of half-elliptical brickarches over ground floor windows anddoors. Most cottages have half-hippedroofs, exposed timbers, small paned windows and porches. With only a fewexceptions they are built close to theroad. Amongst these common features,the sharp-eyed will find a remarkablevariety of unusual details, such as orielwindows, circular windows, herringbonebrickwork, and porches.

It is vital that in any development closeto the old cottages, care is taken in thechoice of style and materials so as toretain the distinctive character of thebuildings in the village.

BUILDINGS AND MATERIALS

12

TerracedcottagesoppositeThe Eagle.

The OldSwan,Red RiceRoad,AbbottsAnn.

RoseCottage,DunkirtLane,AbbottsAnn.

Cob andslate cottages, Little Ann.

LaneCottage,DuckStreet,AbbottsAnn

RobertTasker’shousewith theoldWesleyanChapel onthe left

TheThatches,AbbottsAnn.


13

Pennymarsh, one of the oldest houses in the village, has a cruck frame.

The Old Bakery: now converted into three dwellings.

Possibly the old Workhouse: now a group of three cottages in Red RiceRoad.


Distinctive buildingsUnusually for a village, the church is QueenAnne. Constructed in 1716 of brick and stone itfeatures arched windows, box pews and a galleryon Tuscan columns.

It is close to the church that three of the largerold houses are to be found. The Old Manor,close to the south side of the church, is in partover 300 years old, and there are later additionsof 18th Century appearance. Looking more likea farmhouse than a manor, the older parts of the building are of stone, brick and flint with smallcasement windows and a tiled roof. Opposite isThe Manor, with a Georgian style front of whitepainted brick, a slate roof and a projecting,bowed, columned porch. The Old Rectory, to theeast of the church, is a fine example of a mid18th Century house with later additions. Built ofmellow red brick with blue headers it has asteep, hipped, tiled roof, with leaded dormers aswell as large sash windows.

Other distinctive houses in the village includeManor Farm House in Dunkirt Lane, built in 1783with mellow red and blue brick, and Abbotts HillHouse, which is early Edwardian. There are twopublic houses in the village; The Poplar Farm Inn,which has a thatched roof and part renderedwalls, and The Eagle, built of Victorian red brickand featuring the date 1865 on its adjacent barn.

More recent developmentOf the 517 houses in Abbotts Ann, 107 havebeen built within the last 20 years. Whilst manyare small developments and individual new houses, often almost hidden from the mainroads, there are several larger developments. InLittle Ann there is St. Mary’s Meadow, where thecottage style and sensitive use of some reclaimedbricks and flints screen the large and rather overpowering houses of Abbotts Hill. Off DuckStreet, the development of Hillside would havecreated a dominant feature if it were not partlyscreened by a terrace of four sympatheticallydesigned white houses along the main road.Adjacent to Bulbery with its spacious layout, therecently completed housing association development at Criswick Close could haveemployed materials that blended more sensitivelywith the village, and now requires the growth oftrees to soften its appearance.

BUILDINGS AND MATERIALS

14

Unusually for a village, the church isQueen Anne, built in

1716 of brick andstone.

The Old Manor is inpart over 300 yearsold. Later additionsare of 18th Centuryappearance.

Warren Drive is asmall 70s

development nearthe southern edge of

the village.

Salisbury Road is aribbon development

of houses and bungalows in a wide

variety of styles


Form and styleThe distinctive qualities of the buildings in Abbotts Ann are largelyset by the older cottages in the village, the form and style of which isdescribed above. Buildings constructed in the village during the1950’s and 1960’s were characteristicof that period and do not blend inwith the character set by the olderproperties. It is important that in anynew development, the houses harmonise with the style, scale andmaterials of the older houses in theimmediate area. Smaller houses arepreferred, with a form to match theexisting properties, including terraceddwellings. Low roof lines to matchexisting cottages are of particularimportance, and details such as half-hipped roofs, half-elliptical brickwork over windows, raisedeaves, dormer windows, and exposedwoodwork would all help to makethe new merge with the old.

MaterialsFor any new development to blendwith the old, the choice of coloursand materials is vitally important.Simple designs should use materialsselected from a palette to blend inwith similar designs in the immediatevicinity of any new development. Theuse of flint, mellow red and bluebrick, rendering (painted white orcream), slate and thatch should bevigorously encouraged, as should theuse of second-hand and hand-madebricks, tiles and slates wherever possible. The use of grey and brownroofing materials is preferred, or if ared roof is appropriate a mellowmixed red using old tiles would be acceptable. The use of wood in theconstruction of window and doorframes is preferable to plastics. Theuse of chalk in any repair or reconstruction of cob walls should beencouraged.

DESIGNGUIDELINESTo retain the distinctiveand historic characterof Abbotts Ann:

1 It is important thatin any new development, thehouses blend in withthe style, scale andmaterials of the old.Smaller houses arepreferred, with aform to match theexisting properties,including terraceddwellings. Lowrooflines should bemaintained wherepossible.

2 Half-hipped roofsand details such ashalf-elliptical brickwork over windows, raisedeaves, dormer windows, andexposed woodworkwould all help tomake the new blendwith the old.

3 The choice of materials is vitallyimportant. Amongthose viewed aspreferable are:

■ flint, mellow red andblue brick (usingmixed colours andsecond hand or handmade where possible)

■ rendered walls(painted white orcream)

■ slate and thatchroofing

■ roofing tiles (secondhand or hand madewhere possible) ingrey and brown orwhere a red roof is appropriate a mellow mixed redusing old tiles

■ window and doorframes in woodrather than plastic.

15

Bulbery:originallydesigned as alow-densitycouncil housingestate.

Sympatheticstyling ofthis terracescreens thelarge Hillside developmentoff DuckStreet.

A modernhouse onMonxton Hill– the dormerwindowsenable theroof line tobe as low aspossible.

Traditionalmaterialshelp thehouses in StMary’sMeadowblend in.

CriswickClose: a smallbut muchneededdevelopmentof low-costhousing

Thatch, brickand flintmake thisdevelopmenton a particularlysensitive site acceptable.


MAKINGGOODDESIGNWORK

REFERENCES ANDACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This documentdescribes the distinctive characteristics ofthe village ofAbbotts Ann.Today we live inthis beautifulexample of aHampshire villageset in an agricultural landscape andcontaining attractive and historic buildings.It is our responsibility toensure that in any future development wepreserve the special qualities ofthis delightful village for futuregenerations. Thegoal is in ourhands. TheAbbotts AnnVillage DesignTeam presentsthese designguidelines as ablueprint that canbe followed.Through carefulattention to detail,architects,builders, residentsand planners cancontribute to thefuture of AbbottsAnn by makingthese aspects ofgood design work.

ReferencesThe following documents were used in theproduction of this Design Statement, and arelisted for those who may wish to refer to theoriginal text for greater detail on the appropriate topic.

1 Oxford Dictionary of Place Names

2 ‘Abbotts Ann in Hampshire’ by PamelaKing

3 ‘A Story of Abbotts Ann’ by Alan Selby

4 ‘Abbotts Ann School 1831–1981’

5 ‘Waterloo Iron Works – a history of Taskersof Andover 1809–1968’ by L T C Rolt

6 ‘Illustrated particulars, plans and conditionsof sale of the Red Rice Estate, Andover’Knight, Frank & Rutley, 1915

7 ‘Abbotts Ann Conservation Policy’ TestValley Borough Council, 1992

8 ‘An Assessment of the impact of develop-ment at Little Park – Summary of Findings’by Abbotts Ann Action, January 1999.

9 ‘Hampshire Treasures – Test Valley DistrictNorth’ Hampshire County Council.

10 ‘Hampshire Biodiversity Action Plan’Hampshire Biodiversity Partnership

11 ‘Historic Rural Settlement in Basingstokeand Deane and Test Valley’ by BobEdwards, Bournemouth University

AcknowledgementsThe Abbotts Ann Village Design Team wouldlike to thank:

■ the villagers of Abbotts Ann who completed questionnaires, took part inworkshops and meetings, photographedthe village, and contributed their knowledge and skills in a variety of ways

■ the Parish Council of Abbotts Ann for theirsupport and encouragement

■ Mr Norman Roberts for his advice andencouragement

■ The British Museum, for permission toreproduce the illustration of the RomanMosaics

■ Sir George Young for his support andencouragement, and;

■ ❏ Parker Bullen – Solicitors ❏ Willan – Builders ❏ Test Valley Borough Council ❏ and in particular the Millennium FestivalAwards for All programme, for financialsupport.


AA DES STAT old 9/6/00 5:14 pm Page 1 ABBOTTS ANN · 2014-06-24 · Abbotts Ann. Published by the...

Documents

Transcript of AA DES STAT old 9/6/00 5:14 pm Page 1 ABBOTTS ANN · 2014-06-24 · Abbotts Ann. Published by the...