Picts Cottages

Picts Cottages are two houses dating from the early 16th century or earlier. They are timber-framed and were refronted in the later 19th century with Flemish bond brickwork on the ground floor, using red bricks and black headers. The first floor is tile hung, and the roof is tiled with an off-central late 16th-century ribbed brick chimneystack and a gablet on the left side. The cottages are two storeys high and have six windows. The late 19th-century leaded light casements are set in wooden surrounds and include two projecting gables, along with two 20th-century half-glazed doors that have flat hoods on brackets. There are also 20th-century lean-to additions on the side.

Inside the left-side cottage, there is a dining room featuring an axial beam with a 3-inch chamfer and lambs tongue stops. The beam over the fireplace also has lambs tongue stops, and there is a bread oven with two shelves. The first floor displays gunstock jowled posts, rushlight marks, and the base of a crown post. The other cottage has an open fireplace, but the rest of the house has not been inspected. The original roof throughout is composed of crown posts with collars and collar purlins. In the chimney bay, some wall-framing is visible to the north of the chimney on the first floor, which may indicate an earlier smoke bay. The three bays to the left of the inserted chimneystacks have clear roof timbers, while the two bays to the right of the chimneystack show signs of sooting.