Brook Cottage

Brook Cottage is a small hall house dating from the late 16th century, with extensions added in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. It is timber framed and plastered, with a roof covered in red clay tiles, handmade on the southwest pitch and machine-made elsewhere. The building has three bays aligned approximately northwest to southeast, with the main aspect facing southwest. It features a two-bay open hall and a storeyed bay to the northwest. An axial chimney stack, inserted around 1600, is located in the southeast bay of the hall, facing northwest. There is a one-bay extension to the northwest from the 18th or 19th century and a 20th-century extension to the northeast.

The cottage is single-storey with attics. The southwest elevation includes a 20th-century oriel window, a small 19th-century casement window, two 20th-century casement windows, and a gabled dormer with a 20th-century casement window, all featuring leaded glass. Some of the timber framing is exposed internally, showcasing jowled posts and arched braces rising from the posts to the wallplates, which are not trenched. The northeast wallplate has a bladed scarf joint, and there is a cambered tiebeam across the hall with chamfered arched braces. Evidence of a former inserted floor on clamps has been removed. The chimney stack is made of 33 cm brickwork, completely covered with plaster.

A studded partition between the hall and the storeyed bay is largely intact, with smoke blackening visible at the top on the southeast side. The original floor consists of lodged longitudinal joists with a horizontal section that are unchamfered, featuring a framed stair trap in the southern corner. Part of the original stair with solid treads has been relocated to the northwest bay of the hall, still providing access to the original solar. The roof has side purlins with curved wind bracing. The framing of the original lid wall is weathered and exposed in the later extension. This cottage is an exceptionally interesting example of a small house that retains a medieval arrangement while incorporating construction features typical of post-medieval houses. The open hall and largely intact original floor enhance its architectural significance.