Friars Court Cottages

A row of three cottages incorporating the remains of a building dating back to the 13th century, likely a hospital chapel. The cottages are constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble, with render covering most surfaces, and have a machine tile roof. The overall layout is of a long rectangular building aligned from southwest to northeast, with a parallel, gabled range added in the 20th century, and another gabled range at a right angle to the north. While the cottages were remodelled around 1942, resulting in no visible architectural features from earlier periods on the exterior, the south wall contains post-medieval elements, with blocked features and straight joints possibly dating to the 17th century or later.

A measured survey in 1985 revealed the original north wall of the central and eastern cottages to be approximately 0.68 metres thick, surviving to a height of about 4.9 metres. The cross wall between the central and western cottages is 0.93 metres thick. A section of different construction, and much thicker (0.70 metres) than the rest of the wall, includes a splayed doorjamb. These fragments appear to be the north, south, and west walls of a rectangular building measuring approximately 10.6 metres by 3.7 metres internally, and 4.9 metres in height, with a doorway on its south side. This could represent the chapel rebuilt for Nicholas de Totnes between 1237 and 1244, or possibly another associated building.

A chapel on the site is documented from the early 13th century, originally serving as a hospital chapel linked to the nearby Knights Hospitallers. Later, it was reduced to a chapel-of-ease and rebuilt between 1237 and 1244. Further investigation might reveal architectural features currently hidden by plaster. The 20th-century additions to the north are not considered to be of architectural significance.