The House
No.4 Brand Lane is a Grade
2 Listed Building and has had an interesting history some of which Karen has been
able to establish thanks to surviving ancient Deeds to the property and the
help of the thriving Ludlow Local History Group. Built between
1720-29 for Sir Francis Charlton the house remained connected to the Charltons
until sold to an affluent Ludlow Attorney named Someset Davies who eventually
lived at Croft Castle and then let No.4 to assorted tenants.
By
1810 the house was occupied by a Mary Edwards (widow of Revd. John Edwards who
had been senior curate at St.Laurence's Church). Mary was clearly a
remarkable woman with a brilliant mathematical brain and who, as a widow,
worked from Brand Lane for over 30 years as a paid 'computer' for The British
National Almanac compiling astronomical tables to assist sailors in finding
latitude and longitude at sea - a very unusual occupation for a woman at that
time and from her base in land-locked Shropshire!
In
the 20th Century the house has been home to several families and in 1944 even had an
evacuated London mother and her 4 children billeted in the attics!
The present owners Karen and Dan have lovingly renovated No.4 and in 2006 won a
Heritage Award (from South Shropshire District Council) for restoration work
that 'significantly improved the appearance of the Ludlow Conservation Area'.