Poverty Cottage

A cottage dating from the 17th or 18th century, with later alterations. It is constructed with a timber frame of oak, set on a stone sill, with plaster infill between the timbers. The walls feature oak first-floor and roof structures. The north end has a chimney built of rubble stone, topped with 21st-century brick stacks. The ground floor is stone-flagged towards the north end, with brick hearths and a brick bread oven. There are brick repairs to the north-west end of the walls, and the roof is now covered with modern metal sheet.

The cottage is a single-storey building with an attic, comprising two rooms with a historic stud wall dividing the ground floor. A closed roof truss separates the attic room and includes a historic inserted door opening.

The exterior has exposed timber framing on each elevation, except the north end which features a projecting chimney. Some of the framing is modern replacement or modification, with the north-east wall appearing the most original. Some 17th or 18th-century braces and assembly marks are visible. The plaster infill panels are partially modern replacements, and the window frames are adapted and reused. The stone chimney at the north end has a bread oven to the left and two modern red brick stacks, one of which obscures an attic opening. The south end has rebuilt window openings on both floors, set within the existing timber framing, including an oak brace to the ground floor on the right. The entrance is in the south-west elevation.

Inside, the main ground-floor room has an inglenook with a bressumer and a brick bread oven to the right. A large, stopped-chamfered oak beam runs across the room, its northern end having been adapted; it aligns with a similar beam in the adjacent room, with a pegged stud cross-wall between them. The north room’s floor is stone-flagged, and a stone sink sits on a brick stand in the west corner. The door to the south room is ledged and has strap hinges. The wall at the south end has been partly rebuilt, and the end of the chamfered beam is secured with a metal brace. The ceilings in both rooms have substantial original joists. A 21st-century staircase, re-using historic materials, leads to the first floor and is surrounded by modern partitions. The roof structure is partially exposed and divided by a closed truss with a pegged apex and a historic door opening. Single purlins remain, but both gable ends have had some framing replaced, with modern decorative timber additions.