Little Thatch

Little Thatch is a detached house dating back to the 16th century, with alterations in the 18th century. It is constructed of timber framing, brick and flint, with plaster and weatherboarding, and has roofs of thatch and clay tiles. The west front features a brick plinth, with the ground floor plastered and the upper floor weatherboarded. There are 19th-century sash windows on the ground and first floors of the central two-storey section. An entrance is located within a brick lean-to to the south, and an isolated archway of brick and random rubble extends westwards from the northern extension, likely dating to the 19th century, but incorporating a partly legible earlier inscription reading ‘RD --4(?)8’. The roof is half-hipped and thatched. The east front has 18th-century brickwork on the ground floor, with 20th-century insertions; weatherboarding to the first floor. An axial chimney stack of 18th-century brickwork with offsets is present, along with scattered windows. A single-bay extension at the north end, under a catslide roof, is part of a single-storey extension added around 1970. The interior reveals a remaining 16th-century timber-framed north wall, including main posts, tension braces, a mid-rail, and what is believed to be the original entrance. The living room, which occupies the ground floor of the original building, is open apart from an enclosed staircase. It features 18th-century pine timber framing and includes an open hearth with an 18th-century bressummer. An original 16th-century jowled main post, tie beam and wall plate are visible in an upstairs bedroom at the northeast corner of the building.