Watery Lane Cottage

Watery Lane Cottage is a house that likely dates from the first half of the 17th century, with alterations made in the 18th century, around 1800, in the mid-19th century, and in the early 20th century. The structure features a timber frame with wattle and daub infill, and the entrance elevation is tile-hung. The rear and left return have a ground floor built in flint with brick dressings, while the first floor of the rear has brick infill and the left return is tile-hung. A mid-19th century addition is made of pinkish brick in Flemish garden wall bond, with two stretchers and one header, and is also tile-hung at the front. The roofs are covered with plain tiles and there are brick stacks.

The original range is one and a half storeys high and consists of two bays with a lobby-entry plan, accompanied by a single-storey, one-bay addition on the right. On the entrance elevation, to the right of the original range, there is a board door that is concealed by a 19th-century gabled brick porch featuring a basket-arched opening and a band of fishscale tiles on the roof. To the left of the porch, there is a 19th-century two-light small-paned metal casement window, with the upper panes shaped in an ogee arch. Above this window, there is an early 20th-century two-light, eight-pane casement window set beneath the eaves under a gablet. The ridge stack is aligned with the porch, and the roof is half-hipped at both ends.

At the rear, projecting from the left end of the original range is probably an 18th-century semi-circular brick bread oven with a tiled roof. To its right is a 20th-century two-light small-pane casement window, with another window above it similar to the front. A six-pane window is located in the right bay, and a stack rises from near the eaves between the windows. On the left return, there is a board door on the left and a 20th-century two-light window on each floor.

Inside, there is a full-height wattle and daub partition between the left-hand bays, with parts of the timber frame exposed. On the ground floor, there are chamfered beams, with the beam in the central bay featuring stepped triangle and cyma stops. The first floor has wide floorboards, a cambered tie-beam at the original right-hand end, an eaves plate, and straight wind braces. The cottage was in a state of disrepair at the time of inspection.