Little Old Hay

This is a house, likely dating back to the 16th century or earlier. Extensions were added in 1989. The house is timber-framed, with the right end tile-hung, and has a peg-tile roof. The rear elevation is reportedly brick, with areas in "English bond" and "stretcher bond" construction. Concrete block extensions are also present.

The original plan is unclear due to inaccessible interior spaces, but it may have started as an open hall, with either an open hearth or a smoke bay. The house faces west and consists of 3 bays, with the middle bay being narrower, possibly serving as a smoke bay or passage. Two front doors, with 17th-century frames, divide the house; one is within the narrow bay, and the other is to the right. This suggests the house was divided into two cottages in the 17th century. The ground floor plan is likely two or three rooms wide, with the two rooms on the left potentially heated by back-to-back fireplaces in the central axial chimney stack, and an unheated service room at the right end.

The house is two storeys high, with a deep, hipped and gabletted roof at the left end, and a half-hipped roof at the right end. The chimney stack has a modern brick shaft. The timber framing uses large timbers with curved tension braces above the middle rail and close-studding below, with evidence of former window openings. The front elevation is slightly asymmetrical, featuring two 19th-century plank doors with Tudor arched frames and carved spandrels, centrally located. There are two ground floor 19th or early 20th century 3-light timber casement windows with glazing bars, and two 18th or 19th century 12-pane sliding sash windows on the first floor. A roof dormer with exposed framing and a hipped roof is visible on the left return.

The interior and roof were not inspected. Further investigation, including examination of the roof timbers, would help determine whether this is an open hall house and might require revising the description or grade. Photographs from 1957, held by the National Monuments Record, show the front elevation weatherboarded.