The Cottage and Holly Cottage

The Cottage and Holly Cottage

Two cottages occupying a former farmhouse on Bullingstone Lane in Speldhurst. The building dates from the late medieval period, probably late 15th century, with improvements made in the 16th and 17th centuries, some 19th-century modernisation, and further modernisation and enlargement of The Cottage around 1980. The structure features exposed timber framing on coursed sandstone footings, brick stacks with the older one on a sandstone base, a brick chimneyshaft, and a peg-tile roof.

The building is arranged on a basically T-plan facing north-east, with Holly Cottage to the right and The Cottage to the left. The right north-west end room has a gable-end stack, which along with part of the back of the crosswing makes up Holly Cottage. The rest of the crosswing belongs to The Cottage. Originally the building had a two-room plan with the front room featuring an outer lateral stack and the rear room with an axial stack; these are now divided between the two properties. The Cottage has a circa 1980 extension at the left end of the main block.

The house was originally constructed as a late medieval open hall house. The main block, now Holly Cottage, served as the medieval hall and was originally open to the roof, heated by an open hearth fire. The narrow bay at the right end suggests there may have originally been a through passage. The service end further right has been demolished. In the late 16th century, a stack was inserted either into the passage or backing onto it, and the hall was floored over. At the same time or in the early 17th century, the other end was rebuilt as a parlour crosswing projecting forward. A rear room was added in the 19th century. The building now comprises two storeys with 20th-century lean-to outshots to the rear.

The exterior displays an irregular front with a 2:2:2-window arrangement, all 20th-century casements with diamond panes of leaded glass, similar windows appearing on the other sides with some 19th-century examples at the rear of the crosswing. Doorways to The Cottage and Holly Cottage are located in the front end of the crosswing and towards the left end of the main block respectively; both contain plank doors with coverstrips. The main block retains original timber framing, with similar 17th-century framing to the crosswing and a three-bay extension to The Cottage finished in similar style. The roofs are gable-ended, with the taller one over the old main block. The rear gable end of the 19th-century crosswing features ornamental patterned framing, and the plastered infill panels display a variety of scored patterns forming simple sgraffito-work. A first-floor window is a wide oriel with a solid moulded timber sill.

Only Holly Cottage was available for interior inspection at the time of survey. The ground floor of the former hall displays late 16th-century features including a large brick fireplace with a chamfered oak lintel, an axial beam chamfered with canted step stops, and large scantling chamfered and step-stopped joists. The roof is late medieval. A closed truss serves the crosswing with an open truss near the stack. The tie beam features large chamfered arch braces and a plain square-section crown post tapering slightly from top to bottom, with down braces to the tie and up-braces to the crown purlin. A-frame common rafter trusses of relatively large scantling incorporate lap-jointed collars. The parlour crosswing roof, not available for inspection, comprises tie-beam trusses with clasped side purlins and queen struts.

These cottages occupy an interesting late medieval house which was probably related in some way to the nearby Old Bullingstone.