John and Mary, the house that adjoins Clare Cottage was the home of the West family, blacksmiths over many generations, and their smithy was on the site now occupied by the cottage.
By 1763, the smithy had fallen to disuse and the site was sold by John West to John Bourne, a yeoman, who built Clare Cottage.
It remained in the ownership of the Bourne family until the death of his grandson, John Bourne in 1826. It was then sold by auction to a cordwainer, James Baker for the princely sum of £80.
In 1853 James died and left the cottage to his niece, Jane Baker who later married a gentleman named William Westwood.
They sold it to Spencer Whitman, a butcher in 1871 and in 1900 it was purchased for £50 by a clothier’s assistant, Thomas Wiltshire.
Thomas later became a chauffeur in Berkshire and, in 1924, sold the cottage to William Apps, a grocer’s assistant and his wife Mary Ann for £70. While they owned the cottage, it was named “Cozie Cottage”.
When they sold it to Thomas Wiltshire, the then owner of the Roselands Hotel, it was renamed “Little Roselands”.
It was sold in 1942 and gained its present name of “Clare Cottage”.
We hope that you want to stay in the beautiful little piece of history. If you do, you will find a more detailed version of this history on the living room wall.
