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South End is the longest street in Seaton Ross by a substantial margin. Today there are 68 houses on South End. At the start of the first world war there were 22 (there were 23 in 1811) and of these 22, 17 still stand.
The map (left) also shows an area known as the Green, and previous to enclosure in 1812 it was common land and a staging post for cattle. Originally this lower part of South End was known as Green Road – and Green Farm (now The Old Farmhouse) opposite also got it’s name from this feature.
OS 25-inch 1889. Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
As we set off down South End from St. Edmund’s Church with fields on our left and right, the first house we come to on the left is new – Newton House – built in 1911 at the same time as Applegarth on Church Lane.
Next is the substantial building of Mains Farm – built in 1812. You can see at this time that there is a small cottage attached to it on the right.
There follow some farm buildings of Mains Farm on the left before getting to a number of houses on the corner as the road curves left. These are the semi-detached ‘orchard cottages’ – now Bramble Cottage and Harvest Cottage – built in 1818 and rebuilt in 1868.
..beyond them is The Old Post Office – built 1868 – and then Field View House – built in 1838 and with a good view of the fields! At various times this was a village shop and post office.
Continuing south – with just fields on the left and right, we eventually come to Southfield on the right – a two storey house built in ~1800.
Moving on a little, just before the corner on our right is Rosewell Cottage – built 1836 – and opposite it, set back a little from the road, is Stockton House – built in 1780.
In front of us now at the corner where the road divides is The Corner House (left below) – built 1811 – and round the bend to the left along Mains Lane is Lane Farm – built 1841/rebuilt 1857 – and farther along it is Mains Cottage (right below).
Walking on down South End between fields, with the junction behind us, we come to the Black Horse Inn (built 1822) on the right and overlooking fields – seen in the photos below, front and back. [This is the smaller, LH, building of the two standing today].
Just before the Black Horse are two Parish Cottages, which were built earlier in 1789. These can be seen in the LH photo below, which also shows Damson Cottage – built ~1760 – just past the Black Horse as we travel south and the oldest building in the village of Seaton Ross.
Next on our right is a single-storey cottage – built in 1840 and now demolished – which can be seen in the photo below. Immediately after this are the Green Farm barns and the Green Farm itself (now The Old Farmhouse) built in ~1841. Before enclosure in 1812, the two fields opposite Green Farm were the village green.
Beyond this and still on the right are Hazeldene and then Towgarth – both built in ~1840.
Finally on our left we come to either two semi-detached cottages both known as Rose Cottage (now combined and called Geneva Willows) or a single building called Rose Cottage – built in 1840 and for which we have no photo.
Past this on the left is Park Farm Cottage – originally built in 1795 and rebuilt in 1848. In the 1982 photo left it does not look as good as today.
Opposite Park Farm Cottage on our right is the imposing Rose Farm (now Rose Farm House) – built in 1843, followed by its extensive barns.
Photo courtesy of Carolyn Oswald
At the very end of the village on the left, and now demolished, lie three single-storey parish cottages, built ~1787, on the site now occupied by the house Omega.
All photos are from the collections of Bessie Fridlington, Dave Waby, Will Blackburn and Jane Henley unless otherwise attributed. If you have other photos or clearer copies that we could include – please contact us.