The Old Cottage

The Old Cottage is a house dating from the early 16th century or earlier, with a hall that was floored, likely in the 17th century, and various alterations made in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The walls are constructed of flint, rubble, and brickwork of different types, with rubble dressings. The roof is half-hipped and thatched, featuring brick stacks at the gable ends and partway along the ridge. The building has one and a half storeys and irregular fenestration, including three gabled dormers. Most windows are three-light wrought-iron casements with leaded lights set in timber frames. The central entrance has a part-glazed, panelled door beneath an open, half-hipped, tiled porch. An early insurance company plaque is located on the front wall.

Inside, the ceilings are supported by deep stop-chamfered beams, and the open fireplaces feature deep chamfered timber bressummers. The front door opens onto a cross-passage. The roof is held up by four true cruck trusses that show extensive smoke blackening. The purlins are wind-braced, and the central cruck has a chamfered arch-braced collar, with the chamfer extending to a point through an ogee curve. The adjacent wind braces are also chamfered, indicating that the house originally had a two-bay hall open to the roof with an open hearth. The roof still retains its original smoke-blackened wattle lining beneath the thatch. The positioning of the 17th-century fireplaces suggests that the house was converted into a pair of cottages after it was ceiled.