Altarnun Post Office And Corner Cottage

The building is a post office and cottage, dating to around the mid-17th century and extended in the early 19th, late 19th, and late 20th centuries. It is constructed of rendered and painted stone rubble, possibly with some cob, and has asbestos slate roofs with gable ends. The original house has stone rubble end stacks on both sides, along with a similar stack to the rear range. Originally, it comprised two rooms, possibly a parlour and a larger hall kitchen, each originally heated by an end stack. An additional one-room cottage was built in the early 19th century, also with an end stack, and a second room was added to its rear in the late 19th century, again with a stack. The layout has since been altered; the right-hand room of the original house is now a separate cottage (Corner Cottage), while the passage, the original left-hand room, and the early 19th-century cottage form the post office with private accommodation. The two-story front has an asymmetrical arrangement of windows. The older section to the right features a 19th-century porch to the left of centre, incorporating a blocked granite doorframe. It has a two-light casement window to the left and a door to the right, with a slate hood over the door, and another two-light casement beyond. A 20th-century window sits to the left on the first floor, alongside a two-light casement. The later cottage to the right has a higher roofline and an asymmetrical one-window front, with a 20th-century window to the left and a door to the right. There is a 20th-century window on the first floor. An internal cross wall between the later cottage and the left-hand room of the original house has been removed. The interior of Corner Cottage was not inspected.