Numbers 1 And 2 Berkley Cottages

Numbers 1 and 2 Berkley Cottages are two houses located on Stambourne Road in Toppesfield, dating from the early 18th century. Originally built as a single property, they were divided into two separate homes in the late 20th century. The cottages are timber framed and covered with horizontal weatherboarding, topped with a thatched roof and designed in a baffle entry plan.

The exterior features one storey and an attic, with a five-window range. The west front has a uPVC door at the far left, with two uPVC windows to its right, which belong to the north cottage. The south cottage has a 20th-century glazed door replacing the original doorway, flanked by two timber casement windows with glazing bars. A ridge stack is positioned left of center. The south return displays a fragment of pargetted plasterwork at ground level, along with a late 20th-century hipped entrance bay, accessed through a plank door on the west side. There are two uPVC windows on the south return. The weatherboarded gable head of the original house includes one uPVC window beneath a slight overhang. The north return has one uPVC window on the ground floor and attic. The rear features a lean-to outshut with two 2-light casements with glazing bars and a small single-light dormer. Late 20th-century extensions are present on both sides, with the south extension being gabled and dated 1982, while the right extension has a sloping roof, both featuring modern doors and windows.

Inside, the north cottage has a rebuilt brick fireplace with an early 18th-century cupboard door to its left and a 20th-century staircase against the north gable wall. The south cottage boasts a larger rebuilt brick inglenook fireplace, stop-chamfered bridging beams, and some exposed studwork of the timber frame. The original dividing wall has been replaced with open partition studwork. The roof is of the side purlin type with collars.