Wisteria Cottage began as two small estate cottages, maybe used for workers from Welton House, (although there is no evidence it formed part of Welton House’s estate) with a third neighbouring cottage later demolished. You can see the three cottages on the photo above on the left. One of the original pair was known as Rose Cottage. The name Wisteria Cottage probably appears only in the second half of the 20th century, as no census records use it.
There is a carved stone, believed to be from the original building and now remounted in the wall of the rear extension. This bears the date ANNO 1637.
The building may have suffered 17th–18th‑century fire damage, and later alterations joined the two cottages, removed the central chimney, added modern facilities, and revealed two saltbox niches beside a fireplace. Before the conversion, one cottage was regularly rented by school teachers or residents awaiting new homes.
Late 1960s showing the building as two cottages
There is a belief that the building may once have operated as a shop.
The cottage appeared in 2003 on the C4 programme House Doctor (Season 6, Episode 11), although sadly this is unavailable to view anywhere at the moment.
What else do we know about the residents?
Mid‑century residents included Mrs Edgar, 1950 who advertised for a nurse for a baby due in October. Mrs Foy, 1952 lived in the house and wanted a second hand hoover. Mr Henry Samuel Songhurst, 1956 lived there and gave evidence in a court case regarding insurance, licence and tax offences by ‘two youths’ who crashed outside his house. And newlyweds Diana Vivienne Bradley Jones and William Gordon Cullen made the cottage their home in September 1958.
In the late 1960s–70s, owner Mrs Clare Kaddy—likely responsible for merging the cottages—hosted local art exhibitions to raise funds for local causes. We believe many of Eric Fleming’s paintings were shown and bought at these events.
Wisteria Cottage in Welton News and views October 1989:
At the Wine and Cheese Gathering at Wisteria Cottage, The Green, on Monday October 30th at 8pm, we are having one stall only, for cakes. (Please, all our friends, support us, even if you can’t come!) Also please bring, or send with a friend, a small item suitable for an auction. This should take place at about 8.45pm. Proceeds to Church Urban Fund and St. Martin’s Bell Fund. George and Lil Goodman
In the 2000s it was owned by a family named Patten who moved to the Isle of Man, and later that decade two pilots named Karen and Peter Banner lived there for a few years. They sold to the current owners.
It is believed the door from their kitchen was one of the original doors salvaged after the fire at Welton House. This is borne out by this memory from a villager:
Wisteria Cottage? If it’s the door into the kitchen from the ‘snug’, I got it from the ruined house and had it hung – it weighed a ton to drag(!), even though the journey was short…
