Suffragette’s house boasts Sajid Javid as a neighbour
STEEPED in Victoriana, you can imagine Bromsgrove suffragette Mrs Horton busily preparing ‘Votes For Women’ banners on the parquet tiled floor or by the original fireplace at Coombe Cottage back in 1913.
This glorious age-old cottage in Worcestershire, which is just a few doors down from Home Secretary Sajid Javid’s constituency home, is now for sale for the first time in over 50 years. Described as “captivating” by estate agent Fine & Country Droitwich, this four-bedroom period home in Alcester Road, Finstall, has a charming Savannah-style verandah porch, stunning conservatory and paddock. It’s being sold for offers over £800,000.
The detached property began life in the 1830s as an ale house before the Horton family moved in. Mrs F Horton lived there at the beginning of the 20th century when she was secretary of the Bromsgrove and District National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies.
Bromsgrove was at the heart of the suffrage movement as Clemence Houseman and her brother Laurence were born there and went on to found the Suffrage Atelier together in 1909. They were also renowned for making banners for suffragettes between 1908 and 1914. The pair were the siblings of famed poet A. E. Housman.
The present owner remembers walking into the sundrenched living room 50 years ago and immediately falling ‘‘in love with the house and its inviting ambience”.
Described as a “modernisation project”, it is oozing period features throughout.
Coombe Cottage was enlarged at the start of the 1900s when the then owner added a grand sitting room and high ceilings. Later on, the property grew further and is attached to the self-contained Boot Cottage, which was once the local shoemaker’s.
Boot Cottage has its own kitchen, sitting room, bedroom, bathroom and separate entrance. Two doorways from the main house are blocked off but could be reopened by the new owner.
“It is a home that offers an easy hospitality, with chatty meals round the large table in the breakfast room that links to the kitchen,” said the estate agent. “It is a pleasure to sit in the breakfast room and watch the birds, or the occasional deer crossing the garden – the jewel in the crown of this delightful home.
“An area that was a tennis court was planted as woodland, and many years ago, 10 daffodil bulbs were planted there. These have multiplied into their thousands and are an annual joy. It is a garden that invites you to walk amongst the trees, settle by the pond, or rest under the chestnut tree enjoying the view over Worcestershire.”