Castle Cottage

A cottage, formerly a row of three cottages, and perhaps originally a farm building, of C17 or C18 date.

MATERIALS and PLAN: knapped flint with brick dressings, formerly partly lime washed, with a roof of half-hipped outline, now covered with C20 machine-made tiles, but formerly thatched. There are two storeys with a single-storey lean-to outshut along the south side, added at a later date, with a slate roof and rendered walls, and a C20 extension to the western end of the north front. The outshut has been converted to a central entrance lobby with bathroom to one side, flanked by a studio and storage. The winder staircases are retained from the three cottages and each leads to separate first floor space.

EXTERIOR: the north face was formerly the entrance front to the row of cottages. It has a blocked door to left of centre and a further door to far right which now leads to the C20, extension. The ground floor sashes are of 4X4 panes and the three, first-floor windows have 4X3 panes. The openings have brick surrounds and there are brick quoins to the corners of the building. There are the remains of lime wash or render to parts of this front. The ground-floor extension to far right has a shallow-pitched roof and a door to its eastern flank.

The eastern end has a small casement at ground floor level and a blocked opening at attic level which may have formerly been a taking-in door for an agricultural building.

The south face, which now forms the entrance front, has a continuous lean-to outshut to its full length. The eastern end of this has exposed, knapped flint with brick quoins, as on the house, and an arched brace to the half-gable. The southern face is rendered and has slate roof. The narrow gap between the top of this roof and the eaves of the principal block has three, 2-light casements at first floor level.

INTERIOR: the entrance lobby has exposed flint walling and a truss to the lean-to roof with an arched brace, and this is also seen in the ground floor bathroom. Each ground floor has a cross-axial square-edged beam to its centre. Fire surrounds are C20 replacements of brick. First floor bedrooms have widely-spaced joists. The winder staircases were formerly enclosed and that to the centre retains its ground-floor plank door with strap hinges. Glazed, C20 doors have been inserted between rooms at ground floor level.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURE: to the southern side and extending to the south and then to the east is a section of flint walling which now forms a boundary wall to the property, but which was formerly part of a farm building.