1 and 2 Mill Pond Cottages, Pluckley

Pair of cottages, Pluckley

These two cottages are thought to have originated as a single house dating from the 17th century. The building was refronted and converted into two cottages, probably in the early 19th century. Both cottages were extended in the late 20th century.

The cottages are set on a west-east axis, with number 1 to the east and number 2 to the west, their entrance facing north. A single-storey rear lean-to, possibly part of the original construction or an early addition, is attached to the rear. Late 20th-century extensions flank either end of the building. An early 21st-century conservatory attached to the east end of number 1 is excluded from the listing.

The building is constructed in red brick laid in Flemish bond, with a rubblestone plinth that originally supported a timber frame, elements of which survive within. The hipped roof is plain-tiled with a brick chimney stack. Windows are replacement timber casements.

The original building comprises five bays. The central bay contains a double doorway with a single window above. The brick stack rises centrally above the entrance. When the building was refronted, the doorway was enlarged to accommodate two separate entrances, cutting into the stone plinth which is now framed in brick. The doorway retains its early 19th-century form with a timber hood on moulded brackets, though the frame and bracket to the western part (number 2) have been renewed and the hood is now covered in lead. The boarded door to number 2 with simple iron furniture is probably original; the door to number 1 is a replacement with re-used furniture. Ground-floor windows have cambered arches while first-floor windows have flat arches set immediately below a dentil eaves-cornice. The windows flanking the central bay are tripartite; those in the original outer bays are narrower, as is the window above the door. To the rear, the roof descends in a catslide over the outshut, with evidence of alterations to the ground-floor windows in this section and to two small dormer windows above. The eastern and western extensions each add one wide bay with a window matching the outer windows of the original building on the front elevation. Although the brickwork and tiled roof continue in the same manner as the original, the stone plinth is not continued. Each rear extension features a large tile-hung dormer.

Internally, the original entrance lobby has a framed partition inserted to create separate lobbies for each cottage. Both ground-floor rooms are open plan, with a chamfered transverse beam. The joists are now exposed but show evidence of former lath and plaster. The brick of the stack is now exposed in both cottages, with a sturdy timber bressumer spanning the opening. Evidence of blocked bread ovens survives within the chimney openings. The original position of the stair is unclear, though it likely occupied the outshut behind the stack. In number 2, the stair is now in a partition within the south-east corner of the main room; in number 1, it is in the eastern extension. In both parts, the end wall has been removed at ground-floor level to link the original space with the extension. The original framing is partially visible in the rear wall, with some timbers removed and others inserted to create new openings. The timber scantling is relatively slight, consistent with a late 17th-century date. At first-floor level, the plan has been considerably altered. The space above the lobby at the front belongs to number 2, with the corresponding rear space belonging to number 1, an arrangement reflecting the conversion of the building into two separate dwellings.

The original common rafter roof structure survives well overall, with collars and purlins. Some timber has been replaced over number 1. The rafters are pegged at the apex and identified by carpenters' marks, though unusually the pegs are hammered through from the side opposite the fair face. Over number 1, fragments of lath and plaster remaining on the rafters at low level, with corresponding plaster to the brickwork of the stack, suggest that the ceiling below was raised at some stage. The roof structure has been altered at the eastern and western ends to accommodate the new roof over the additional bays.