Cote Cottage

House. Built in 1926 to designs by architect John Sydney Brocklesby for G H Farmer, the Advertising Manager of Imperial Tobacco Company, Cote Cottage is a late example of Vernacular Revival style, notable for the incorporation of Persian and Turkish antiques within the interior, as requested by the client.

The exterior is faced with flint and has a pantiled roof, featuring two brick chimneystacks, one external on the right-hand side. The house is two storeys with attics in a gable end, displaying irregular fenestration framed by elm surrounds with original steel windows. A dormer window on the front elevation has a three-light and a six-light design. A square relief is positioned between the dormers, depicting waves, sunrays, and a flash of lightning. The ground floor features casement windows, a French window, and a loggia supported by timber piers, extending along two-thirds of the front. A brick structure projects from the base of the chimneystack on the right side, containing a recessed plank door flanked by sidelights. The left side has casement windows, including a first-floor two-light triangular bay supported by wooden brackets. The rear elevation has a part catslide roof.

The interior L-shaped living room has an open fireplace with a wooden bressumer, a painted brick surround with three round-headed arches, and fixed ceramic tiles believed to be Turkish or Persian, some bearing Arabic inscriptions. A wired cupboard features Mushribeyah lattice work; a former rectangular opening has been infilled with a later fire surround incorporating a round-headed arch. Upright posts are shaped to resemble Moorish columns. The room has wide elm adzed floorboards and beams, reported to have been salvaged from the keels of Norfolk wherries. A small adjoining room has a corner wooden fireplace with a tiled surround, a tiled floor, and a wooden cabinet beneath the sink in the kitchen. Deal doors lead to various offices, including a tiled larder and coal storage. The staircase hall, originally separated from the living room by a screen, has a door with Middle Eastern lattice work. The staircase has solid balustrading on the lower floor and balusters on the landing. The first floor includes a master bedroom with original built-in cupboards and a bookshelf, though a built-in bunk bed has been removed. An adjoining bedroom to the front elevation has built-in chest of drawers, a cupboard, a built-in wardrobe, and a wash basin with a surround of small green tiles. A smaller bedroom has built-in cupboards and a removed bunk bed. The bathroom has original green and blue tiles. A steep ladder provides access to the loft, which has a roof with thin scantling, collar beam, ridgepiece, and deal cupboards.