Smugglers Cottage Ye Old Cottage

Two houses, known as Ye Old Cottage and Smugglers Cottage, likely originated as a single 17th-century dwelling, located at the end of a row on Fore Street, West Looe. A former boathouse is situated at the rear of Ye Old Cottage. The houses are constructed of painted rubble walls, incorporating many original oak lintels. They have a steep asbestos slate roof, with an external rubble stack that was later heightened with brick, another external rubble stack on the right-hand side, and a further stack to the rear.

The plan originally comprised three rooms and a through-passage, with a later outshut at the rear right, and a boathouse/net loft extension projecting at a right angle to the rear left. The external appearance is of three storeys, with a three-window front. There are two 17th-century two-light oak mullioned windows on the second floor, alongside mid-18th century casement windows. One particularly notable feature is an early/mid-18th century 16-pane hornless sash window to the left of the doorway and in the hall bay to the right of the integral stack, both with thick glazing bars. A further doorway is located to the right of this. Both doorways have slate hoods supported by original carved oak brackets, and are fitted with 20th century doors.

The return elevation has a small 17th-century two-light oak mullioned window with diagonally set stanchions, along with an 18th-century 20-pane two-light casement, the top section having been cut down to create margin panes. The rear of the property features an 18th-century stair sash window with thick glazing bars.

Inside, the original oak floor joists are visible; most are roughly chamfered, with those in the central first-floor chamber being square-edged, indicating they originally supported a plaster ceiling. Original fireplaces are present, featuring chamfered oak lintels, with the exception of the hall fireplace which has an ovolo-moulded lintel. The original rear door to the former passage retains moulded and studded planks with 20th-century glazing to the top. An original stair projection is located at the rear of the hall, blocked at the higher end (Smugglers Cottage). The 18th-century staircase features a panelled dado with ramps. A second 18th-century winder staircase, providing access to the upper floors of Smugglers Cottage, incorporates a borrowed light window. 18th-century panelling adorns the left-hand first-floor chamber, along with numerous 18th-century two-panel doors with HL hinges. The roof structure is late 18th or early 19th century, with pegged trusses.