The Cottage

The Cottage is a farmhouse, now a house, dating from circa 1600 with early 17th and 18th century alterations and early 19th century remodelling. The structure is timber frame with red brick nogging, and a timber framed rear wing with painted brick nogging. The roof is slate. The timber framing on the front of the house is from circa 1600, characterised by closely spaced uprights with a middle rail, and later 17th century square panels. The house is in an L-shape, with a baffle-entry range of three framed bays and a single-bay wing at the rear. It has two storeys, with the rear wing comprising one storey and an attic. A brick ridge stack is located off-centre to the right, with an integral lateral brick stack on the rear wing.

The front elevation features three bays. The two outer first-floor windows are early 18th century glazing bar sashes with moulded architraves, and delicate early 19th century wrought-iron balconies. The two outer ground-floor windows are plate-glass sashes with early 18th century moulded architraves. A centrally located, probably early 19th century rendered porch has rounded front corners, a moulded stone cornice, blocking course and wrought-iron balustrade above a pair of early 19th century French casements, set within a surround of moulded architrave and brackets supporting a moulded cornice. Two stone steps with flanking stone globes lead to a central early 19th century six-panelled door; the lower two panels are beaded and flush, the upper four raised and fielded, and it has a reeded impost band, margin-lights, rectangular overlight, and a doorcase with reeded pilaster strips, frieze and plain cornice. The right-hand return front has an early 18th century glazing bar sash to the left and an early 19th century half-glazed door to the right, with margin lights, two lower beaded flush panels, and a doorcase with reeded pilaster strips, frieze and moulded cornice. The left-hand return front has a first-floor glazing bar sash and a late 19th century one-storey addition with a two-light metal casement. At the rear, there are leaded casements on the left. A kitchen wing projects to the right with a pair of ground-floor casements. It features a jettied gable with a moulded bressumer, collar truss with queen struts, and a two-light leaded metal casement. Flanking lean-to additions have boarded doors.

Inside, there are old boarded doors with L-hinges, and early 19th century doors with six raised and fielded panels. A ground-floor room in the rear wing contains chamfered spine beams and a moulded Tudor-arched stone fireplace with bar stops and moulded surround. A left-hand ground-floor room has an early 18th century depressed-arched fireplace with projecting impost blocks and a keystone, while the right-hand ground-floor room features 17th century panelling with a fluted frieze and a door dated “RAK 1603”. An early 19th century staircase is fitted with turned balusters, turned newel posts and a ramped moulded handrail. A right-hand bedroom has a moulded cornice, and the left-hand bedroom contains a small circa 1700 fireplace with a bolection-moulded surround. The front eaves were likely raised to their present height in the early 18th century. The building is notable for the near complete survival of its interior fittings from different periods.