Blocks Cottage

Blocks Cottage is a timber-framed cottage dating to around 1480, situated on Chelmsford Road, Hatfield Heath. Originally built as an open hall with a parlour bay to the west and a service area to the east, the cottage was later plastered and is now covered with a half-hipped thatched roof. A large thatched gable dormer and a contemporary thatched and half-hipped enclosed porch feature on the front. Windows are 20th-century casements with leaded lights. A 20th-century extension now projects from the north-west corner. Inside, the exposed timber frame showcases jowled posts with curved external bracing, an octagonal stop-chamfered crown post with flattish profiled braces, and interrupted tie-beams. Traces of fixings for a former bench, baffle screens, and hood remain. The inglenook fireplace has a small ridge line stack above it.