Yew Cottage

Yew Cottage is a house that was once the residence of the steward of the Windlestone estate. It dates from the mid-18th century and was enlarged in the early 19th century for the Eden family. The exterior features painted render with painted ashlar dressings and painted quoins at the rear. The roof is made of graduated Lakeland slate, with stone gable copings, a roll-moulded ridge, and painted brick chimneys. The building has two storeys and three bays. The central door has six flat panels and is topped by a four-pane overlight, all set in a tooled stone surround with a scroll-bracketed cornice hood. There are 12-pane sash windows above and in the outer bays. The roof copings rest on moulded kneelers, and there are end chimneys. The rear elevation includes a central door, sash windows with glazing bars, and one altered window.

Inside, the house originally had a single-pile layout but was enlarged by altering the rear. The front section features a central dogleg staircase with a ramped moulded handrail supported by column-and-vase balusters and a closed string. The splat newels are distinctive, and the upper end of the first balustrade is ramped down to accommodate the string of the next flight. The first-floor chimneypieces have bolection-moulded surrounds beneath shaped fascia and cornice, with cast-iron grates. The rear part contains a central narrow open-dell staircase with a curved handrail on stick balusters and an open string. There are boarded doors in the rear kitchen and six-panel doors in the upper rear rooms. A solid wall between the staircases now has a door inserted at the landing.