{"content":[{"text":"The planning application was submitted to the County Architect who commented Having \n regard to the amount of “close” development in the vicinity, I do not think there need be any \n objection to the proposal in principle, as it would appear that the Listed Building, “Esgairs”, \n would still have adequate surrounding garden. The application was, therefore, approved \n subject to the materials used in the external elevations shall, so far as is reasonably \n practicable, match the materials in the external elevation of the existing building. A further \n requirement was that the new building be behind the building line of the west wing of Esgairs \n The houses was built by TD Lock, who had been the owner of Esgairs after Miss Grisdale, as \n medieval houses by incorporating miscellaneous historic medieval materials. The houses took \n about 18 months to build on the site between Esgairs and 1 and 2 Platt Cottages (the latter now \n called Victorian Cottage). In 1964 Esgairs, is shown as No.75 following a re-numbering of \n High Street. \n In 1969 the house numbers are 65 (Newbury), 67 & 69 (Victorian Cottage), 71 (occupant H \n McCullough Lt HA from 1967 telephone directories per Richard Christophers), 73 (occupant \n TD Lock) and 75 (Esgairs) There is not a directory for every year. \n Today Mr Lock occupies No.71. He tells me his front garden was previously an orchard and \n he recalls there was a proposal to turn High Street into a two lane highway which fortunately \n was dropped. The two houses are locally listed by Woking Borough Council as a building(s) \n of townscape merit. This must say something for the skill and workmanship of the builder. \n There is nothing wrong in an architect designing a building to be built using medieval materials \n provided that everybody knows that the result is a building built with medieval material and \n not a medieval building. Any fault lies more in planners thinking that building with medieval \n materials next door to a medieval building enhances the original building. \n Sources \n Ancestry.co.uk \n Mrs Howarth’s pen and ink drawing ©the Howarth family \n Woking New & Mail Directories \n Woking Outline Planning Applications 16574 (unfortunately the Application relating to the \n materials used in the construction has been mislaid)","bbox":{"left":0.120943,"top":0.083481,"width":0.758516,"height":0.5659059999999999}},{"text":"Phillip Arnold \n September 2014.","bbox":{"left":0.120943,"top":0.663156,"width":0.13646499999999998,"height":0.03540500000000002}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}