Yeoman Cottage, Shearsby

Yeoman Cottage, Shearsby

Yeoman Cottage is a timber-framed house with a documented date of 1669, though it is thought to originate from the mid-15th century. The building has been extensively remodelled in the late 17th century and underwent restoration and extension in the late 20th century. The structure features timber framing with rendered infill panels and a reed thatch roof covering.

The house follows a central lobby entrance plan with a gabled cross wing and later additions that create an L-shaped configuration. The principal elevation faces east onto Church Lane and is four bays long, rising two storeys high with attics. The reed thatch roof is finished with an ornamental block ridge. The left-hand bay is fully rendered over brick, while the other three bays expose the timber frame with rendered infill panels. The exposed frame is continuously jettied throughout. Each storey features posts with moulded jowls, mid-rails and widely spaced studs. The ground floor incorporates tension braces while the first floor has arch braces. The right-hand bay displays a cross-wing gable with diamond panel framing in the jettied apex. Two canted oriels are positioned at both ground and first floor levels. The entrance door aligns vertically with a window containing 15th-century (possibly) mullions at first floor, an eyebrow dormer in the attic, and a reconstructed chimney top. The door itself is crafted from oak in three planks with horizontal counter boards, nails and long strap hinges, fitted with a leaded glass overlight.

The southern gable features a 20th-century three-light casement window at its apex. Beneath it stands a 1.5-storey extension with a thatched roof and a small jettied gable, with a porch on its south side and a small east window.

The west elevation has a thatched porch with French doors and an extension on the left-hand side that rises to the height of the first floor mid-rail. Casement windows are irregularly spaced, and an eyebrow dormer appears in the attic. The return elevation of the cross-wing shows 20th-century oriels on both storeys and an additional small ground floor window. Attached to the west end of the cross-wing is a single-storey thatched range with attic accommodation that originally provided stabling. The westernmost bay has been reconstructed as a garage with brick walls, while the remainder continues the timber framing style of the house and has a single eyebrow dormer. The north elevation is windowless with an exposed timber frame and rendered panels, built over a plinth of rubble on the left and brickwork on the right.

Interior features are well preserved. The lobby entry plan survives as a principal historic feature. Back-to-back inglenook fireplaces with brick backs and recesses for salt or tinder are present. The larger hearth faces the ground floor hall with remnants of a bread oven on the west side, while the smaller parlour hearth has a window on the east side and a seat on the west.

Beams and joists are exposed throughout. The beams are generally chamfered without moulding, though some moulded details exist. Two staircases are present: an older staircase to the north and a later inserted staircase to the south. The older staircase has a door at its base with six small-field panels and historic ironmongery. The house contains a mixture of historic doors and 20th-century replacements. Many of the upper floor boards are wide and likely date to the 17th century or earlier. Part of the attic floor structure has been removed to create a small mezzanine or gallery.

The common rafter roof contains elements of queen strut construction, butt purlins and a ridge purlin. The roof timbers are largely of rough, raw quality. The former stables have been opened up internally but retain 19th-century brick floors, brick-built mangers and hay racks. A brick-built cellar lies beneath the rear of the cross wing.

In the rear courtyard, within the angle of the house and cross wing, stands a well lined with large rocks. It measures 1 metre wide and 3.5 metres deep.