Curlew Cottage Old Post Cottage

Curlew Cottage and Old Post Cottage, standing together on the northwest side of Sidlesham Mill Lane, are listed jointly as a historic group.

Curlew Cottage is an 18th-century cottage with 20th-century extensions to the rear. It is built of red brick in Flemish bond with plain tile roofs. The building is two storeys with a three-bay symmetrical façade. Two cells flank a central passage, with rear rooms originally under a continuous catslide roof and probably an original rear stair. The building has gable end stacks. The rear has been extended upwards across most of the building's width to create a full two-storey stair bay, which enlarges the flanking upper floor rooms.

The front elevation features a central entrance flanked by replaced horned sashes of four-by-two panes in exposed boxes at ground floor, set beneath cambered brick arches. The door is of six panels—the upper two glazed, above two central raised and fielded panels and two near-flush lower panels—under a small replaced porch. Above is a first floor recessed blind brick panel. The brick gable end stacks have collars; the northern stack was extended when early 20th-century houses were built nearby. On the rear elevation, a flat-roofed, three-window, two-storey block has been raised, housing the stairs and enlarged first floor rooms. It is tile-hung at first floor level, with 20th-century timber doors and casements on both floors. Narrow sections of the original catslide roof remain either side of the flat-roofed extension.

Inside, a central passage runs between light timber-framed walls. To the south is a large brick fireplace with a timber bressumer, flanked by a pair of cupboards with panelled doors featuring original door furniture. The transverse beam carries a shallow roll moulding. To the north is an original deep, flush doorcase to what was probably the former parlour. The rear wall has been removed to incorporate the former lean-to, and a 20th-century fireplace replica has replaced the original. The transverse beam is similar to that on the opposite side. The rear extension contains a 20th-century stair. At the head of the stairs is a pair of doorcases in a single frame, each with a ledge and boarded door and catches of probable early to mid-20th-century date.

Outside to the rear of Curlew Cottage stands a freestanding earth closet.

Old Post Cottage is a cottage of late 18th- or early 19th-century date. It is rendered with a slate roof. Originally a single-bay, two-storey cottage with the entrance at the extreme right and a gable end stack to the left, it was significantly enlarged in 1973 and 1975. The stair originally rose transversely behind the front cell, closed off from the room by a doorway. In 1973, the frontage was doubled and the rear extended. The stack now remains only at first floor level. A small right-hand rear room was extended in 1975, removing part of the rear ground floor wall, which now forms an internal division. The small first floor rear window was inserted in 1975 when the rear first floor space was subdivided.

On the front elevation, the front door of two raised panels lies at the far right (north) under a shallow canopy. Each floor of the original house has a replaced horned sash window of four-by-four panes in an exposed box, probably in original openings. The bay to the left (south) was added in 1973 and replicates the original in a sensitively designed manner, although it is not considered of special interest.

On the rear elevation, the right-hand (south) section of the ground floor wall remains as an internal division, with a 20th-century timber casement. At first floor is a two-light timber casement with four-pane leaves. The adjacent window was inserted in 1975. The 1970s single-storey extensions have small-paned timber casements and large single-pane windows and are not considered of special interest.

Inside, Old Post Cottage comprises a single cell with a rear doorway leading to the stair, which is lined in probably replaced tongue-and-groove boarding. A 20th-century ledge and boarded door leads to the kitchen. No other visible original internal features remain.

Both buildings are recorded in early 20th-century photographs of the street, with Old Post Cottage depicted as the Post Office. Although Old Post Cottage has been much enlarged, its core survives sufficiently to read as a late 18th- or early 19th-century cottage and forms part of the historic core of the village. The two-storey bay to the south (added 1973), attached single-storey garage, and rear extensions beyond the original footprint are not considered of special interest.

Curlew Cottage is the principal building of the group and is of special interest as a small 18th-century house. Old Post Cottage is listed jointly as it forms part of the historic core of the village.