These cottages were built onto the back of the Old School at the Green, Cosgrove. The ghost of their outline, with chimney and ridge line, can still be seen on the side of the Old School Building.

Cosgrove Electoral Rolls 1885

1893

1894

1901

At the time of the building of the Old School, in 1874, a Mr Grimes from Castlethorpe was listed amongst the contributors to the Building Fund, with a donation of 5s.

In 1882 the cottages were offered for sale, but withdrawn having failed to meet the reserve price.

Northampton Mercury - Saturday 25 November 1882

HANSLOPE, Bucks. COSGROVE, Northants.

VERY DESIRABLE INVESTMENTS.
GEO. BENNETT
Is favoured with instructions from the Proprietor,
TO SELL BY AUCTION,

At the "CARRINGTON ARMS" INN, CASTLETHORPE
(close to Castlethorpe Station, on the L. and N.-W.
Railway, Main Line), on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 5th,
1882, at Four o'clock the Afternoon, the
undermentioned

VALUABLE FREEHOLD PROPERTIES two lots, and subject to such conditions as will be then read :—

Lot 1.—Consists of all those excellent Business premises, now in the occupation of Mr. George Adams, at the annual rent of £24, whose tenancy expires at Christmas next, and where now and for many years past the business of Baker, &c, is being, and has been, carried on. This convenient property is most advantageously situate the High-street, in the Town of Hanslope. The Dwelling-house (detached) has a double-fronted shop, two sitting-rooms, private entrance from the street, good kitchen, brewhouse, pantry, &c, four bedrooms, and attics. Adjoining the house is a newly-erected Brickbuilt and. Slated Bakehouse, fitted with excellent coal ovens, large Meal-room over, Salt-house, Yard, Garden, and Premises, and admirably adapted for any business requiring space.
 Early possession can be had.
The whole of the fixtures belonging to the landlord will be included in the purchase. This property has frontage of about 16 yards, and a depth of about 60 yards.
Hanslope is four miles from Wolverton Station, and less than two miles from Castlethorpe Station.

Lot 2. —Comprises all those seven Brick and Stonebuilt and Slated Cottages, in good repair and order, situate on the Green at Cosgrove, viz.,

two Cottages, having each two living rooms, two bedrooms on the first floor, and a large attic, in the occupation of Mr. Marks and Charles Gascoyne, as weekly tenants, 2s. 9d. per week each.

Cottage rented by the managers of the National Schools of the parish, for the schoolmaster, and now in his occupation, having two sitting-rooms, kitchen, and two bedrooms, at a yearly rent of £7. Partly over one of the sitting-rooms of this Cottage is the Wesleyan Preaching Room, for which rent of £2 per annum is paid.

Small Cottage, in the occupation of Mrs. Stamp, having one living-room and two bedrooms, rent 1s. 6d. per week.

Cottage adjoining, occupied Mrs. Gutteridge, having living-room, scullery, and two bedrooms; rent 2s. per week.

Cottage, having living-room, pantry, two bedrooms the occupation of Mr. Bianchi; rent 2s. 6d. per week.

Cottage, having two living-rooms, pantry, two bedrooms, in the occupation of John Smith ; rent 2s. 6d. per week.

This block of Cottages is admirably arranged, in the bedrooms are grates, cupboards, and other conveniences, outhouses for wood and coal, or for washing purposes, are attached to each Cottage, and the whole are spouted, and large iron tanks fitted to receive and hold a supply of soft water. A small piece of garden is with each Cottage, fenced in by a substantial stone wall (well coped) and iron fencing.

Cosgrove is about one-and-half from Wolverton Station and Works, and about the same distance from Castlethorpe Station.
For further particulars apply to John Worley, Esq., Solicitor, Stony Stratford; or the Auctioneer. Buckingham.

Croydon’s Weekly Standard Saturday 09 December 1882

CASTLETHORPE. Property Sale.—On Tuesday, December 5. Mr. George Bennett, auctioneer. Buckingham, offered for sale two lots of valuable freehold property at the Carrington Arms Inn, belonging to W. Grimes, Esq Lot one, a double-fronted shop and Bakehouse, in the High-street, Hanslope, was bought in for £410 Lot two, seven cottages at Cosgrove, were withdrawn, the bidding, not reaching the reserve prior.

Aquilino Bianchi, was an immigrant from Italian Switzerland and had married an English girl in London. He was a painter, and moved to Cosgrove with his family by 1880 to work as a coach painter at Wolverton Railway Works.

Aquilino, his wife Emily, Cecilia, and the little one, Alice lived in cottages attached to the Old School, called Grimes’ Cottages. These were small, stone built dwellings, and in most cases were overcrowded. 

Cecilia Bianchi, the eldest daughter. must have been proud to record herself in the 1891 Census as “an organist and musician”. The family were then occupying a cottage, number 6 in a row of seven called “Grimes’ Cottages” in Cosgrove – probably on the “lower” end of Main Street. We believe that Cecilia or her mother may have taught music or basic school subjects locally.

1891 Census

1901 Census

We know from an article in 1934 that in 1887 a Wesleyan Chapel existed in a specially built room above Grimes's cottages, behind the Old School.

Grimes was a farmer at Castlethorpe noted for cottage construction and Non-conformity. We believe that Mr Grimes acquired the land in an auction from Mr Foster in 1868. We know the cottage with the Meeting room above was rented for the Old School schoolmaster in 1882. In 1891 census information we find that the Bianchi family, who helped to build the Mission Hall, lived at No 6 Grimes Cottages.

Wolverton Express 12th January, 1934

Cosgrove Mission Hall

To be a Branch Church with Stony Stratford

It may be of interest to recall that the Mission was taken over from the Wesleyans in 1887.  Services at that date were held in a cottage belonging to Mr. Grimes, who had so constructed one of them that the upper part formed a large upper room capable of holding fifty people, with a separate exit, and this was used for religious services.  When Mr. Grimes left, the work was taken over by the “United Brethren Lay Preachers’ Association, of which Mr. Woollard was at that time the Secretary, and he linked them up with the Baptist church in Stony Stratford.  The services from this date were carried on regularly by the lay preachers, Mr. Woollard acting as superintendent.

The cottages continued to be occupied for many years, but the name Grimes’ Cottages fell out of use. In the 1911 Census the residents were described by addresses on the Green, but several families, Williams, Childs and so on, can be identified as still living there.

Samuel Williams was a community leader, notably in the Horticultural Society, and is pictured above in his Grimes cottage garden behind the Old School.

In March 1937 several groups of cottages in Cosgrove were condemned as unfit for habitation, and Grimes Cottages were amongst them.

Northampton Mercury - Friday 07 May 1937

The Making of Clearance Orders Housing Act 1936

COSGROVE No. 4 CLEARANCE AREA

7 Dwellinghouses together with the outbuildings and appurtenances thereto belonging situate at The Green, Cosgrove in the County of Northampton, of which owner is Hedley J. Clarke of 43, Bletchley Road, Bletchley in the County of Buckingham and now or formerly in the respective occupations of S. Williams, G. Williams, A. Childs, Mrs. J. Giles, A. Tack, E. Stewart and R. Davies.

By the following year the cottages were listed for demolition.

Northampton Mercury - Friday 01 April 1938

NOTICE OF CLEARANCE ORDER CONFIRMED BY THE MINISTER OF HEALTH HOUSING ACT. 1936.

TOWCESTER RURAL (COSGROVE No. 4) CLEARANCE ORDER. 1937.

TOWCESTER RURAL (COSGROVE No. 6) CLEARANCE ORDER, 1937.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Minister of Health, in pursuance of the powers vested in him by the Housing Act, 1936, on the 21st day March, 1938, confirmed the above-named Clearance Orders submitted to him by the Rural District Council of Towcester, ordering the demolition of the buildings described in the Schedules annexed hereto, and their vacation within the periods respectively specified in the Orders.

SCHEDULE,

COSGROVE No. 4 CLEARANCE AREA.

7 Dwellinghouses together with the outbuildings and appurtenances thereto belonging situate at The Green, Cosgrove, in the County of Northampton, of which the owner is Hedley J. Clarke of 43, Bletchley Road. Bletchley in the County of Buckingham and now formerly in the respective occupations of S. Williams, G. Williams, A. Childs. Mrs. J. Giles, A. Tack, E. Stewart and R. Davies.

By following the Williams family we can see that the demolition was delayed by the Second World War. The Childs, Davis, Giles, Tack families and Dora Martin were also still living in the cottages.

Register of Electors 1939
In Force 15th October 1938 - 14th October 1940

The Electoral rolls were not published during WW2 but in 1946 they resumed. The Williams and Tack families were still living on the Green, as was Sarah Childs, but the other families had moved elsewhere in the village.

In 1953 there was a general re-numbering of houses in the whole of Cosgrove. Names like Williams, Childs and Tack still remained on the Green, in the old cottages, now numbered evens at 4. 8. And 12, with Leslie and Marjorie Meakins, newlyweds, joining them at no 10. We don’t yet know if all seven of the cottages were still in occupation. It is possible that no 18, below, was one of the last of these.

Samuel and his wife Edith stayed in their cottage until Edith died on August 4th 1952 and Samuel on January 15th 1955.

Wolverton Express 6^th June 1958

Towcester Council in Brief

A “time and place” notice is to be served on the occupier of 18 The Green, Cosgrove, as the council is satisfied that the house is unfit for human habitation and cannot be made fit at a reasonable cost.

Wolverton Express 7^th November 1958

TOWCESTER RDC

COSGROVE HOUSE RE-OCCUPATION

Although the owner of 18 The Green, Cosgrove, gave an undertaking that the house would not be used for human habitation until it had been made fit for that purpose, Towcester Council was told last week that the house had been re-occupied, and upon investigation, it was revealed that the house had been sold without the owner having disclosed the fact that there was an undertaking in force. The purchaser was subsequently interviewed by the Public Health Inspector and was prepared to carry out the necessary works. If the works are carried out the Council will cancel the notices. The purchaser has vacated the property.

In 1959 many of the Clearance houses in Cosgrove had been pulled down, and this probably included Grimes’ Cottages. The demolition itself caused some problems.

Wolverton Express 6^th November 1959

"Shambles" at Cosgrove - COUNCILLOR

From one of the prettiest villages in Northamptonshire, Cosgrove had now become a shambles, declared Coun. Mrs. M. Jelley at the annual meeting of the Northamptonshire Association of Parish Councils at Northampton on Saturday. Mrs. Jelley said that the Towcester R.D.C., of which she is a member had gone as far as they could according to law. In February of last year the village had been honoured by a visit form the County Planning Officer.

She went on. “He saw where 20 houses had been pulled down and the site left in a deplorable state. The planning officer agreed that this was yet another example of the despoilation of amenities, and he thought he could do something for us. That was 18 months ago and we are just where we were. A site like this does not improve with keeping.”