The Old Cottage

The Old Cottage is a house dating from the 17th century or earlier, located on the west side of High Street in Widford village. It is a timber-framed structure with plastered walls, featuring a half-hipped thatched roof and an area of red tiling around the front dormer. The house has a three-unit plan with a lobby entry and a large central chimney positioned one third from the northern end. It is one and a half storeys tall and has three windows, along with a small gabled tiled dormer on the wallplate of the central section. Originally, the middle section was open to the roof, while the southern bay was later lofted over. A chimney stack was built near the end of the 17th century or early 18th century, and the hall and northern room were floored over, with a dormer window added to light the chamber above the hall. There is also an external gable chimney on the southern side, added later. The thatched roof is very steep, and there is a three-light casement window with leaded glazing on the left, along with two small rectangular projecting bay windows that have tiled roofs. The entrance features a boarded door with a dripboard supported by small brackets. The Old Cottage is an important historic timber-framed thatched house, contributing to the architectural variety of this part of the Conservation Area.