South Cottage

South Cottage is a house with origins dating back to the 16th century or earlier, significantly remodelled in the 17th century, and with its roof raised in the late 19th century. The construction is framed, with the first floor featuring weatherboarding and the ground floor brickwork, topped by a peg-tile roof. A prominent brick stack is located at the left end of the house.

The house’s plan is south-facing, comprising a single-depth main block, two rooms wide, with a cross passage entrance positioned to the left of the centre. Both front rooms are heated by end stacks. Various additions extend from the rear. The size of the wall framing on the rear wall suggests a 16th-century origin, while the cross passage likely dates to the 18th century.

The two-storey exterior has a gabled end roof and a large, projecting stack on the left end, featuring a tall shaft and tile-hung set-offs. The asymmetrical front has three windows. A gabled porch, built in the late 19th century, is located to the left of centre, with a tiled roof and lattice sides, and a 20th-century plank front door with a cover strip. Two early 19th-century 20-pane sash windows are on the ground floor to the right, and an early 19th-century canted bay is positioned to the left of the porch. The canted bay features a central 24-pane sash and 8-pane sashes in the outer lights. Three 3-light casements are on the first floor, each with two panes in probably 18th-century moulded frames. Two late 19th-century gabled attic dormers are also present, each with a 2-light casement and glazing bars.

Inside, the ground floor on the left features a likely 17th-century intersecting beam ceiling. The left-hand partition of the cross passage was constructed after the ceiling. An open fireplace with stone jambs is also present. The wall framing at the left end of the house exhibits curved tension braces and jowled wall posts. There is evidence of rebuilding at the right end of the house.

The roof itself is from the late 19th century. A photograph from the 19th century shows the house prior to the roof’s alteration.

South Cottage is an attractive and unspoiled, traditionally evolved house in a prominent location within an outstanding village.