Thames Mead Farmhouse And Bell Cottage

Thames Mead Farmhouse and Bell Cottage are a pair of farmhouses, originally a single building, dating back to the early 17th century. A datestone of 1607 is visible on the rear elevation, along with later alterations from the 18th and 20th centuries. The building is constructed from coursed limestone rubble, with the first floor on the left-hand side rendered and the rear wall displaying timber-framing in two panels. The roof is covered with concrete tiles, with some stone slates in the centre, and features brick ridge and end stacks.

The farmhouse has a four-unit plan and two storeys, with a six-window front overlooking the garden. The right-hand section, Thames Mead Farmhouse, includes a 20th-century porch and timber lintels over late 18th-century six-pane sash windows and late 19th-century horned six-pane sashes. The first floor also has late 19th-century casements with similar lintels. Bell Cottage, to the left, features a 20th-century canted bay window, timber lintels over 20th-century casements, and a 20th-century extension to the front left. A small, gabled bay from the 17th century is located at the rear right.

The interior of Thames Mead Farmhouse includes stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops, a 17th-century panelled cupboard with butterfly hinges, and an early 18th-century bolection-panelled room. The roof space was not inspected. Bell Cottage features chamfered beams and large, open fireplaces with chamfered timber bressumers and stone jambs; smaller fireplaces are also present on the first floor. The roof is a 17th-century collar-truss construction with butt purlins.

A smaller, associated building to the left, also part of Bell Cottage, bears a datestone reading RE/1723 and is constructed from coursed limestone rubble with a gabled concrete tile roof and a brick end stack. It has a two-unit plan, two storeys, and a two-window range facing the road at the rear. This building has a 20th-century gabled porch and flat brick arches over 20th-century casements.

The site is located on land that formerly belonged to the medieval Godstow Abbey estate. Documentary evidence suggests the original house was divided in 1604 between Robert and Richard Greenway.