Watercress Cottage

Watercress Cottage is a house dated 1624, located in Combe Hay. It is constructed of rubble with freestone quoins and features a double Roman tiled roof with coped raised verges. The building is single storey with attics, which include two steep gabled dormers topped with finials. It has two bays and showcases a variety of window styles, including 2-, 3-, and 4-light casement windows set in ovolo moulded mullions, surrounds, and lintels. The ground floor window on the left and the door are adorned with triple relieving arches, while the first floor windows have double relieving arches. A studded plank door is positioned centrally, framed by an ovolo moulded surround and fitted with strap hinges that have fleur-de-lys ends. To the right, there is a single storey lean-to.

Inside, the left room on the ground floor, known as the hall, features a freestone fire surround with an ovolo moulded lintel, an enriched cornice, and a moulded mantelshelf. Above the fireplace is a relief frieze depicting coarsely moulded figures, a central escutcheon, and a fleur-de-lys. The room also has ovolo and hollow moulded beams, along with other stop-chamfered beams, and a rear winder stair. The left room on the first floor, referred to as the hall chamber, includes a plaster overmantel with mannered Ionic columns, dated TW/P and 16/24, along with enriched plasterwork featuring rosette teardrop motifs, an enriched lintel with an egg and dart cornice, and a decorative frieze. Watercress Cottage is noted for its interesting vernacular architecture and unusual details.