Cowslip Cottage

A former farmhouse dating from the mid-16th century, with a probable 17th-century wing added to the rear. The building is timber-framed and has a textured render finish. It has a thatched roof, half-hipped on the left-hand side. Originally a three-cell, cross-entry type plan, the cottage is two storeys high with an attic. Windows are mostly 18th- and 19th-century 3-light casements with horizontal glazing bars. One small 16th-century diamond-mullioned window is located on the first floor. There are two boarded doors, the one on the right having a gabled wooden trellis porch. An internal stack features a largely original, plain axial shaft. The 1 1/2-storey rear wing has a stack against its gable end. The interior retains much of the original timber frame, although the studs are mostly concealed. The front wallplate features very short edge-halved and bridled scarf joints (0.2m). The hall and parlour have ceilings with chamfered joists; half of the hall ceiling is concealed by plaster. A bridging beam in the hall has broach stop-chamfers. The rear wall of the hall contains a former cross-entry doorhead with a four-centred arch. An original newel stair leads to the first floor, and an arch-braced tie beam is above the hall chamber. The roof is a queen-post roof, originally half-hipped at both ends, with collar braces only found in the truss over the hall chamber. Cowslip Cottage is a good and largely intact example of a small 16th-century farmhouse.