Old School Cottage

Old School Cottage is a house dating from around 1500, with alterations made in the mid-19th century and restoration in the late 20th century. It is timber-framed with rendered infill, a sandstone rubble plinth, and a plain tiled roof. The building consists of two framed bays aligned north/south, featuring a large rubble chimney at the end of the south bay with two diagonal brick ridge stacks, some incorporating 16th-century bricks. The house is single-storey with an attic.

The timber framing is partially cruck-framed, with two and three panels from sill to wall-plate. It includes large swept braces in the lower corners, a full cruck truss at the north gable end, and a collar and tie-beam truss with struts at the south gable end. Diamond wood-mullioned windows, inserted during a survey in March 1985, are mainly in what are believed to be original window positions. The main entrance is at the south gable end, with attic lights in the gable ends.

Inside, an intermediate full cruck truss remains intact. The main beams have stop-chamfered details, and the doors between bays feature chamfered jambs. The floor joists in the south bay are also chamfered. A former partition is visible on the ground floor of the north bay. A large fireplace, originally containing a bread oven, is located at the south gable end. A winder staircase partly survives in the north bay.

The house was originally a medieval open hall house, likely with a smoke hood which was replaced by the rubble chimney when the building was floored. The doorway of the former cross-passage is evident in the east wall frame. The north bay appears to have been initially divided into a buttery and pantry, and the size and detail of the floor joists suggest it was floored originally.