Half Thatch, 181 Main Road, Great Leighs

This is a 17th-century cottage located at 181 Main Road, Great Leighs. It is a timber-framed and rendered building with a thatched roof.

The cottage is a single-cell structure, square in plan, and has one and a half storeys. The rendered exterior is painted with textured panels designed to resemble pargeting, and a band at eaves height between the windows on the east elevation is decorated with a wheat sheaf. The east elevation also features a dormer window and two modern replacement windows below. The thatch extends down to the north over the main entrance. A brick chimney stack is visible on the gable end of the original cottage. The roof slopes to the west as a catslide over a 20th-century glazed lean-to addition.

Internally, the cottage consists of one room per floor. The north, west, and east ground floor walls have studs resting on a sill beam, with passing braces crossing the studs. A short section of the original sill beam remains to the south of the west door, while the inserted windows on the east wall are framed by later, square-cut studs. The south wall, in contrast, features regular, straight, square-cut timber framing, an inserted brick fireplace, and panelled sections that conceal a preserved area of wattle and daub. The ceiling has a single beam supporting joists. A modern staircase in a lobby to the north leads to a landing within the 20th-century extension. The first floor upper room has a wall plate approximately 0.40 metres above floor level, with substantial timbers bolted to it for added strength. The roof is of common rafter construction, with a concealed ridge, and has purlins and collars that appear to be replacements or additions.

A 19th-century agricultural or service range, the adjoining 20th-century central section, and an outbuilding connected by a glazed link are not considered to be of special architectural or historical interest and are excluded from the listing.