Willys Croft

Willys Croft is a house dating from the late 17th century, with an early to mid 19th-century parlour extension and later additions. The main part of the house features a rendered timber frame and a thatched roof, while the extension is built of brick with a flint plinth and has a pantile roof. The layout consists of a two-unit plan with a cross passage and two service rooms, which have been combined into one large room, extending to the left beyond the stack. The main section is a single storey with an attic, and the extension is two storeys high.

The front elevation, viewed from the left, includes a 10/10 sash window with a 2-light casement above, a 4-panel door, a 12-pane window, and a door topped with a 2-light gabled dormer. There is also a 4-pane window and a door with a 12-pane window in the single-storey extension on the right end, where additional casements and a door are located on the side. Above the extension, there is a triple casement window in the gable, and there are doors and casements at the rear.

Inside, the timber-framed unit has been opened up on the ground floor but still retains its framed partitions and a chamfered bridging beam. The walls feature tall panel framing, and there is an open fireplace with a bressumer and a winder stair located behind it. The former service rooms are now divided by an open stud partition. On the first floor, there are wide floorboards and a 4-bay roof, with only the central and gable-end trusses having tie beams. The central tie beam is cut and dovetailed into a door frame, which may be an original feature, as the truss was originally closed and a doorway was needed for access to the far chamber. The roof also includes two tiers of wedge-tenoned butt purlins, collars, and straight braces. Overall, Willys Croft is a little-altered cottage with a two-unit plan and a later parlour extension.