Rookery Cottage The Cottage

Rookery Cottage, originally lodgings or a service range, later a gatehouse, was converted into five cottages in the early 19th century. It dates back to the 16th century and has undergone several alterations, including re-roofing, the insertion of stacks, replacement windows, and conversion back into two cottages in the late 20th century. The building is constructed of flint pebbles with a stone plinth and quoins, with brick infill on the north and south fronts. Some lintels on the south front are cement rendered. It has a steeply pitched clay tile roof with boxed eaves on the north front. Rendered stacks are located at the west gable end and centre right of the porch, with the east gable end stack rebuilt in brick in the mid-to-late 20th century.

The building faces south towards the Hangleton Manor Inn and features a central porch on the south front and a recess on the north front. The Cottage’s entrance is in the northeast corner, while Rookery Cottage is accessed via the porch. The south front is two storeys with an irregular arrangement of 20th-century PVC casement windows, some with PVC leading. Evidence suggests a former external stack is on the left of the porch, and the right side has brick infill. A central one-and-a-half-story porch, originally taller, has quoins and a cement-faced gable. The porch contains 19th-century double-panelled doors. The north front has two- and three-light cast-iron leaded casements. Traces of early 19th-century blocked doorways are visible to the left and right of the centre, and the current entrance was also inserted in the early 19th century. A central segmental-headed opening leads into a recess, with a blocked inner segmental-headed opening. The interior remains uninspected, but likely contains features of interest.