Southenay Cottage

Southenay Cottage is a house dating from the 15th or early 16th century, with a later addition from the 16th century and further alterations made over time. It was restored in the 1980s. The building is timber framed, with the ground floor underbuilt in red brick using English bond, while the first floor is rendered. The rear wing is clad with painted galleted stone and features a plain tile roof.

The structure consists of 1½ timber-framed bays forming an open hall, with a later 16th-century cross-wing of 2 timber-framed bays to the left, creating a T-shaped plan. The left return elevation of the wing serves as the entrance front and has been in this form since at least the 18th century. The open hall range, now the rear wing, is 1½ storeys high, while the cross-wing has 2 storeys and an attic.

The current front elevation was once characterized by a continuous jetty that returned along the right gable end but is now underbuilt. The eaves of the right gable end are jettied, possibly with a gable above, and there are mortices for brackets under the wall-plate ends. The roof has been modified to be hipped on both sides. A broad projecting red brick stack in English bond is located on the left gable end, with a gable end stack on the rear wing. There is a central hipped dormer from the 20th century.

The fenestration is irregular, featuring two windows: one is a 3-light casement and the other a 6-pane sash. There is an off-centre boarded door with a 4-light fanlight to the right, set in a panelled recess with a gabled canopy. A lean-to structure is attached to the rear of the left gable end, wrapping around the back of the building.

Inside, the cottage showcases exposed framing, including moulded axial and cross-beams, joists, a dragon-beam, and a cornice with leaf chamfer-stops on the ground floor of the front range. The principal posts are chamfered, and there is a moulded 4-centred arched doorhead between the ranges. The rear wing features a moulded fireplace bressumer. The front range has a clasped purlin roof with windbraces and diminishing principal rafters, while the rear range has a collared common rafter roof. A staircase from the 18th century is located in the front range.