Woodside Cottage, Diamond End

Woodside Cottage, Diamond End

This is a cottage and former public house that retains some 18th-century fabric but has undergone 19th-century alterations and a substantial 1985 extension.

The house is constructed partly in timber framing (elm and pine) and partly in red brick, with a small area of flint walling. The roofs are covered in plain tiles. Historically the building had a two-cell plan arranged either side of a central chimney stack, though this has been altered, most notably by the addition of a two-storey gabled crosswing at the north end.

The principal elevation faces east towards the road and is two storeys high with a half-hipped roof. The two-bay historic core is divided by a central chimney stack running through the roof ridge. The first floor is weatherboarded while the ground floor is of brick, originally laid in Flemish bond, though this shows areas of alteration where original doorways have been blocked and window openings altered. To the right is the gabled crosswing, which contains the principal entrance beneath a tiled canopy. The fenestration throughout largely dates from around 1985 and is of lesser interest, except for two small square windows on the ground floor west elevation. The south elevation has been entirely renewed in the late 20th century with new weatherboarding on the first floor and renewed brickwork in stretcher bond at ground level, along with a small window and French doors from the 1985 renovations.

The west elevation has a catslide roof covering an outshut at the rear of the original cottage, within which are two large dormer windows constructed around 1985 as replacements for smaller earlier ones. The ground floor walling here is of uncoursed flint with brick quoins. The crosswing projects further west and continues the same pattern of brick at ground floor and weatherboarding above, with pitched tiled roofs.

Internally, the principal features are the exposed timber frame elements, the brick chimney stack, and the staircase. The timber frame has been complicated by extensive alteration and the introduction of some cosmetic timbers in the 20th century. The most significant early features are the chamfered bridging beams either side of the chimney stack at ground floor, together with the rails and wall plates, all of elm and worked by axe rather than saws.

The brick chimney stack contains back-to-back fireplaces at ground floor and is likely 18th-century in date, though the jambs and lintels have been altered. There is no evidence for additional chimneys, and the upper bedrooms may historically have been unheated. The stair compartment is lined with matchboard dado panelling. The treads of the staircase may have been renewed, but the risers appear to be historic. Several plank and batten doors survive, some possibly dating to the 18th or early 19th century.

The roof structure has been altered to accommodate the crosswing and consists of common rafters and side purlins. Many of these rafters appear to be original roughly hewn timbers, though they have been partly supplemented by late 20th-century timbers.