Step Cottage

Step Cottage is likely a 16th-century core, significantly altered in the 18th century and later, with 19th and 20th-century modifications. The house has a pebble-dashed stone exterior and a renewed pantile roof. It originally features two timber-framed bays with a partial outshut to the rear right and a later one-story addition to the left return. The facade has two windows on the first floor. A glazed 20th-century porch covers a partly glazed front door; flanking casement windows with glazing bars are also present, along with a two-light window on the left. The first floor features two-light horizontally-sliding sash windows with glazing bars. A rebuilt stone end stack is on the right, and a ridge stack is near the left end. The right return shows the base of a projecting end stack, while the left return has an L-shaped addition with a monoclinal roof and a tall stack. The interior reveals encased timber framing, including rear wall posts and a bressumer beam visible on the ground floor. Upstairs, there are five wall posts, and the central truss retains original stud infill and braces to the tie beam, which has a door-head cut-out. Framing of the left end is visible from the loft over the addition. Renovation photographs, held by the owner, depict curved braces to the wall plates and a roof constructed using collared common-rafter framing.