Comments on: John Thomas Smith’s Rural Cottages

By: Marcia Howard

Marcia Howard — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:23:57 +0000

Had never heard of Battlebridge, Middx, so looked it up.
Quote: Battle Bridge was a historic hamlet and river crossing in the historic county of Middlesex that is now known as King’s Cross in central London.
Well I didn’t know that!

By: Pam Thomas

Pam Thomas — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 10:12:57 +0000

Really interesting! So many of them are so ramshackle and seem to have been thrown up overnight, I wonder if some were originally ‘night and day’ cottages, or is that a myth? Certainly locally to me, several houses on the fringes of common land are supposed to have originated that way.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 09:45:20 +0000

Thank you Gentle Author. These pictures are wonderful to see. How tough people must have been to live in these possibly not very comfortable cottages – tough stuff! Very different to the grand houses. Did people even get time to sit – I can imagine even sitting would have been on a hard chair or stool. I wonder what they would make of today’s slouchy sofas!

By: JerryW

JerryW — Sun, 20 Sep 2026 08:47:52 +0000

Chelsea, Westminster, Hampstead .. most of the places look very different indeed, nowadays!
Even then, the days of the Millbank house must have been numbered..