Church Cottage And Church House

Church Cottage and Church House are a timber-framed house, divided into two dwellings, dating to the 15th century, with significant alterations in the mid-17th century, early 19th century, and late 20th century. The house is primarily timber-framed and faced with brick, with some rendered and painted brick infill, and has a plain tiled roof. It originated as a medieval open hall house of three bays, aligned east/west. A large sandstone and brick chimney was inserted to the west of the central bay, featuring a brick ridge stack, and a single-bay addition was built to the rear west end in the 17th century. The building is two storeys high and has a dentilled eaves cornice. The house is cruck-framed, although the framing of the main part is not visible externally. The rear wing has two and three panels from sill to wall-plate, with a collar and tie-beam truss at the south gable end. The north front elevation contains a mix of 2-light and 3-light casement windows with cambered heads, as well as a single-light window, all on both the ground and first floors. A ledged and battened door with a cambered head is located to the right of the original east end bay, likely marking the position of a former through-passage. A 20th-century bay has been added to the east end, featuring large double doors and a first-floor 2-light casement. Inside, three pairs of crucks remain, but the lower part of the south blade of the west end cruck has been severed. A timber-framed partition divides the original east bay into what was probably a former buttery and pantry. Large back-to-back fireplaces, now blocked on the west side, are present. The hall features an inserted cross-beamed ceiling with large chamfer stops. A 20th-century addition exists to the rear left. The house is prominently positioned on the south side of the churchyard of the Church of St John the Baptist.