18, 20 AND 22, WEST END ROAD

A row of three cottages located on West End Road, Silsoe, dating back to the 17th century with 19th-century alterations and an extension. The cottages are timber-framed with plaster rendering to the upper stories, and a ground storey constructed of brick. The roof is covered in plain tiles, with gabled ends and slate at the rear, featuring brick gable end stacks with tiled set-offs and smaller axial stacks. The original layout comprised three rooms, with a two-storey outshut added to the rear in the 19th century, followed by a single-storey extension in the 20th century. The south front is almost symmetrical, displaying four windows. All windows are 20th-century two-light casements; number 22 (the left-hand cottage) retains a plank door, while the others have later 20th-century replacements. The rear outshut has 20th-century casements. Internally, the ground floors of numbers 18 and 22 feature intersecting chamfered ceiling beams with step stops. The central cottage (number 20) has chamfered cross beams. Number 18 also has a panelled door corner cupboard. On the first floor, some timber framing is exposed, including tie-beams, wall plates, wall posts, and purlins.