Shepherd'S Cottage

Shepherd's Cottage is a house that originated as a hall house in the late 16th century, was floored in the mid 17th century, and underwent renovations with brick casing in the 18th century. It features south and rear extensions added in the mid 20th century. The exterior showcases exposed timber framing in the north and south gables, with red brick infill and casing that includes some blue bricks. The steep roofs are covered with old red tiles, featuring a half-hip and gablet at the south end of the main roof, as well as a half-hip on the south extension.

The house is two stories tall and has four windows facing west, with the north end built into a hillside and a single-storey, one-window extension at the south end that runs down the slope. The brick front has a dentilled eaves course and segmental arches over the ground floor openings. The windows are flush leaded casements with iron opening lights, arranged in two or three lights.

Inside, the structure reveals a framework of a three-bay house, with full-height partitions on the north and south sides of the central hall. The unheated north parlour is accessed by one step, while the entrance and current staircase are located in the south bay, which has an added external chimney on the rear wall. The interior features a chamfered axial floor beam and plain squared joists in the north bay that may be original, while the bar stops on the axial chamfered floor beams in the hall and south bay appear to be contemporary. The rib moulding on the hall joists suggests they date to the mid 17th century. The framework includes swept jowls, an edge-halved scarf joint in the wallplate, and straight braces to irregular tie-beams. The clasped-purlin roof has cambered collars and straight wind braces. A large internal chimney at the upper end of the hall is offset to the rear, possibly indicating an earlier lobby entrance and stair when the floor was inserted in the hall.