Elm Cottage

Elm Cottage is a house dating to the late 16th century, with later extensions in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is timber framed, with some brick infill and plastered sections, and a thatched roof. The original building comprised four bays aligned approximately north-south, facing east, with a chimney stack in the second bay from the north, positioned against the south wall. A brick extension was added to the south in the 19th century, featuring a chimney stack in the northeast corner. A 20th-century extension extends to the west from the north end, creating an L-shaped plan. Further 20th-century additions include a small extension to the north and a covered way along the north elevation, along with a conservatory in the southwest angle. The house is single-storey with attics. The east elevation features painted brickwork at each end, with exposed timber framing and brick infill between. It has two casement windows and three double-hung sash windows, all dating to the 20th century. Three eyebrow dormers with horizontally sliding sash windows of eight lights were added in the late 19th century. The roof is hipped at both ends. Internally, some timber framing is exposed, including arched braces rising from corner posts to tiebeams and wallplates, and trenched inside studs. Framing in the upper part of the original south end remains exposed within the 19th-century extension, with mortices for four diamond mullions between tiebeams and collar, off-centre. Similar mortices are present for an equivalent unglazed window at the north end, also off-centre. Longitudinal joists are lodged and unchamfered in the south bay. A transverse beam just south of the main chimney stack has plain chamfered ends with lamb's tongue stops, along with vertical-section joists. A blocked aperture for a bread oven is visible outside the east wall. A straight joint through the building, immediately north of the chimney stack, indicates a phased building programme, with both sections dating to the late 16th century. The roof is of clasped purlin construction with curved wind-bracing. A previous hearth contained a blocked aperture for a bread oven outside the east wall which has been demolished. It is thought that the 'hall' may have originally been open, as the floor in that section appears slightly later than the rest of the house, potentially inserted within a decade or two of 1600. The ends were storeyed from the outset. In the early 19th century, the house was divided into two tenements at the hall/parlour partition and extended to the south with an additional chimney stack. A cast iron grate exists at the upper level. In the early 20th century, the lower part of the original south end was removed, with the remainder supported by a rolled steel joist, to combine two small rooms into a larger one.