The Crooked House

The Crooked House is an 18th-century cottage with 19th and 20th-century extensions located on Blandford Road in Shillingstone. The building is constructed of rendered brick in English Bond, featuring a thatched roof with a half hip at the north end and brick stacks at both the south of the 18th-century range and the end of the 19th-century extension.

The cottage has one and a half stories. The central 18th-century section includes two four-over-four sash windows on the ground floor, located to the right of a 20th-century porch. The first floor has two four-light casement windows with horizontal glazing bars. The two-storey 19th-century extension to the south features a four-over-four sash window on both the ground and first floors. To the north, there is a single-storey extension that extends beyond the rear of the property, which also has a four-over-four sash window at the front. At the rear, there is a 20th-century single-storey lean-to extension and a four-light casement window on the ground floor of the 19th-century extension. The thatched roof is hipped at the north end and supported by two brick chimney stacks.

Inside, the original 18th-century main doorway, an 18th-century plank door, and the staircase remain intact. Timber framing in the principal room suggests an earlier partition wall. The brickwork in the first-floor rooms indicates that the roof has been raised, and it appears largely 19th-century, featuring A-frame trusses with staggered tenoned purlins.

The 20th-century extensions on the north and west elevations are not of particular interest. The Crooked House is recognized for its minimal alterations since its listing in 1960, its representation of vernacular architecture using local materials, and the preservation of its original features, including the staircase and 18th-century plank door.