The Cottage

The Cottage is a house designed in 1888 and altered in 1900 by C.F.A. Voysey for M.H. Lakin. It is constructed of roughcast brick with a concrete tile hipped roof, featuring gables to the rear and curved iron gutter brackets. The ridge is punctuated by roughcast stacks. The building follows a U-plan with wings to the rear and is executed in an Arts and Crafts style.

The front, originally the garden front, has a porch with battered walls and leaded lights, though it currently lacks a door. Leaded glazed doors are situated inside. The windows are plain, leaded, painted wood mullioned, with some featuring tile and roughcast drip moulds. The ground floor features 5- and 3-light windows recessed between buttresses. A large 7-light hall window is located to the left of the porch, while smaller 6-, 2- and 3-light windows, with transoms, are situated to the right. Four shallow hipped half-dormers break just above the eaves, each containing a large 3-light window, alongside two smaller 2-light windows on the right. A low, 3-bay loggia is attached at a right angle on the right side.

The left return side was altered and extended in 1900, now serving as the entrance front and featuring a four-window range. A large, low projection on the right has an 11-light window and a hipped roof, alongside a half-glazed door in the angle (2 x 3 panels), and a linked single light with a 4-light window. A large 4-light window is placed on the left. The first floor has two further 3-light half-dormers on the left and smaller 4- and 3-light windows. The right return side is an irregular 4-window range with two further 3-light half-dormers on the left and small 4- and 3-light windows.

To the rear, a central bay window of 5 x 2 lights projects from a gallery with a lean-to roof. 5- and 3-light windows are set to the left. A gabled projection in the right angle, adjoining the bay window, features a 3-light window. A 3-sided bay window with a steep roof is situated in the angle between the projection and the right wing, with a small 4-light window above. The left wing has a 3-light first-floor window. The right return side includes a half-glazed door, a 3-light window, and two first-floor lights, while the right wing has a single ground-floor window.

The interior features an entrance hall, which was formerly a gallery, with a straight flight staircase characterized by stick balusters and a moulded handrail. A brick-paved floor is present. A window features small panels of painted glass depicting ships and horsemen, possibly of 17th century Flemish origin. A room to the right contains a simple fireplace with a moulded shelf and a curved lining of thin bricks laid on end. The former hall features plain ceiling beams. An open fireplace has a moulded shelf. Another fireplace, constructed of brick and edge-laid tiles, has arched openings. Original features include wide plank and batten doors with strap hinges, scrolled twisted rod window catches, and cupboards with heart-shaped escutcheons. The Cottage represents Voysey's first completed building.