Burrow Cottage

Burrow Cottage

A cottage of late 16th or 17th-century origin with later extensions. The central two bays are timber-framed construction faced in rubble stone, while the eastern bay is stone. The roof is thatched with a brick chimneystack. The building forms a linear range oriented east-west.

The principal elevation faces south and presents a four-bay range of single-storey and attic storeys. The cottage is believed to have originated as a two-cell structure with an external stack on the west end, surviving as the central two bays. A central timber-framed porch, possibly added in the 19th century and modified in the 20th century, has a thatched pitched roof with a window to either side and two eyebrow dormers to the attic. The front door is a ledge-and-plank structure with an inserted light. Ground-floor window openings have been modified with cambered brick lintels; most windows are iron-framed casements. The eastern bay has a single ground-floor window formed from an earlier doorway. The east gable features a flat-arched six-light casement window on the ground floor and a smaller window to the attic. Barge boards ornament the eaves, and the ends of four ranks of purlins project from the masonry. The wide left-hand (western) bay is largely late 20th-century construction and is excluded from the listing.

The building extends along the rear (north) elevation in several phases. At the east end is a small store beneath a deep catslide roof. To the west the catslide has been truncated and a shallow slate roof inserted to raise the internal height. Further west is a late 20th-century rendered extension with a shallow lean-to roof, which is excluded from the listing.

Internally, large sections of the box-framing of the original two-cell cottage survive. The frame has a deep sill plate mounted on a stone plinth and is two bays in height on the ground floor with diagonal corner braces. Axial ceiling beams with very deep chamfers support roughly-hewn joists. The western room of the ground floor has a wide splayed fireplace; the plaster on one side has been removed to expose roughly-coursed rubble stone and brick construction. It has a deep chamfered bressumer with possible apotropaic markings. The attic is reached by a modern stair in the eastern bay; the floor frame has been modified to accommodate this enlarged opening. The timber framing continues in the attic, rising to trusses with collar and tie beams and upright struts. The western room has a small fireplace inserted into the brick stack. Historic ledge-and-plank doors with strap hinges survive in several locations.

The timber frame bears evidence on both storeys that the doorways into the easternmost rooms are insertions. The uniformity and structure of the floor frame in the easternmost room, visible on the ground floor, suggest it is likely 20th-century in date. A deep fireplace with flagstone hearth and slender timber lintel, also a 20th-century construction of concrete block, occupies this space.

The bathroom stands within a historic rear extension and incorporates the timber framing of the rear wall of the original building. The kitchen, extended in the late 20th century, occupies the westernmost bay and has a fireplace built upon the back of the original external gable stack. The utility room occupies a late 20th-century extension. The kitchen and utility room are excluded from the listing.