Fern Cottage And Fernside

Fern Cottage and Fernside are two houses dating from the 17th century, with alterations and an addition from the early 19th century. The buildings feature a timber-frame structure with brick infill set on a stone-coped brick plinth, topped by a thatched roof with a brick end stack and a cruciform cross-axial stack. The layout consists of a three-unit plan with a rear wing.

The exterior is single-storey with an attic and has a three-window range. The entrance, located to the right of center, is accessed through a 19th-century gabled open timber porch that has been glazed, featuring a 20th-century glazed outer door. On the ground floor, there are two square windows to the left of the porch, which have moulded sills and heavy cornices over two-light glazing with iron opening casements. There is also a large early 20th-century hipped bay window with transomed casements arranged in a 1:4:1 pattern and leaded glazing. The first floor has three eyebrow dormers; two on the left with windows matching those below, and one on the right with a similar casement but lacking a sill or cornice. The roof is gabled.

The returns of the building are brick, with the right return displaying wall posts, a braced collar, and V-struts. The entrance in the porch mirrors that of the front but is unglazed, positioned to the right of a three-light double-chamfered mullioned window, with a 20th-century casement above. The wing features a flat roof.

Inside, the property is noted for having some exposed beams and joists, representing an example of an estate cottage that was improved in the 19th century.