Thatched Cottage

Thatched Cottage is a house dating from the 16th century or earlier, located on the east side of Bury Green in Little Hadham. It is thatched and faces west. The cottage appears on the Clintons Estate map from 1588. Originally, it featured an open hall and had a one and a half storey northern end with a roof in line. In the early 17th century, a central chimney was added, and a floor was inserted, converting the house to a lobby entry plan. A new staircase was placed in the lobby, and there is a 4-light diamond mullioned dormer with a sloped roof on the front, with head mortices still visible.

In 1954, the cottage was renovated, and a two-storey rear wing was added, which was extended to the east in 1969. This extension is one and a half storeys, timber-framed, and plastered with a black painted plinth. The steeply pitched thatched roof is gabled to the north and hipped to the south over an end lean-to with lower eaves. The cottage features 3-light wood casement windows and an external gable chimney made of 18th-century red brick on the north side. There are also two 3-light casement dormers on the front eaves.

Inside, the close-studded timber frame is exposed, showcasing swept jowled posts, a tension brace in the partition, and a chamfered axial beam with joints in the northern part of the house. The old staircase was formerly located in the northeast corner. A chamfered and stopped axial beam supports the square joists of the floor that was inserted over the hall. The roof has clasped purlins with rafters that may be soot blackened. The quality of the carpentry indicates that this was originally a three-unit 16th-century house, with the service end being demolished when the southern lean-to was added in the early 18th century. The old dormer over the hall is of particular interest due to its unusual design.