The Cottage

The Cottage is a house dating from around 1530, with alterations made in the late 16th and 17th centuries. It was originally a two-cell house featuring a cross-entry and a smoke-bay at the right-hand gable. A third cell may have existed where a new parlour cell was added in the 17th century. The building has two storeys and is constructed with timber framing and plaster. It has a Roman pantiled roof, which was once thatched, and features a central 17th-century chimney made of red brick.

The windows are mid-20th century small-pane casements, and there is a boarded entrance door. Inside, the two-bay hall showcases steeply cambered tie-beams, which are unusually shoulded, at both open and closed trusses. The studwork extends full-height and includes arch wind-braces, with evidence of cross-entry doorways that have arched heads. The roof is a complete coupled-rafter structure that has been lightly smoke-blackened, and the half-hip at the service end is enclosed within a later addition.

At the right end of the hall, there is a depleted but original smoke-bay that shows heavy smoke encrustation. The service cell features large unchamfered floor joists, while the hall contains well-crafted chamfered first-floor joists. A lintelled open fireplace from the 16th or 17th century is located within the smoke bay. The building has mid-20th century extensions added to the left and rear.