Fox Cottage

Fox Cottage is a house dating from the 16th century or earlier, and possibly retaining evidence of an open hall house. It is located on the west side of Aston Long Lane in Aston End. The house originally had a two-story axial parlour wing to the north, with a floor inserted and the south part heightened during the 17th century. A late 17th or 18th century brick chimney is positioned centrally. A 19th-century jetty underbuilds the north end, and a brick extension was added in the 1970s. The house is timber-framed on a low stucco plinth. The front elevation is faced with painted red brick, with a red brick chimney; a 1970s red brick and pantile two-story extension is not of particular interest. The roof is covered with steep old red tiles. The house has a long, two-story, three-cell plan, with a central chimney. The northern part, of two bays, was built with an upper floor, a north end jetty and a side-purlin roof. It features heavy jowled posts with square-section curved braces. The north jetty-beam remains, with mortices for a central upright flanked by two 4-light diamond mullioned windows. The three-bay southern part was originally lower and open to the roof, with tension braces in the walls. The service bay at the south end was partitioned off. Lower parts of the arched braces to the open truss of the hall survive below the inserted floor, which incorporates a chamfered axial beam with run-out stops. An inserted central chimney at the south end of the hall bears a heavy ogee bracket supporting a floor beam. Walls were heightened when the floor was inserted. The service bay on the south side was floored in the 18th century with a rough axial beam and square joists. The east front features three sash windows to the upper floor, each surmounted by small half-timbered gables at the eaves. Two similar recessed sash windows with 3/3 panes and segmental arches are on the ground floor, alongside a 3-light canted casement window set within the wall’s depth. Inside, there is a large open fireplace with a chamfered lintol, and benches and recesses.