Myrtle Cottage

Myrtle Cottage

Myrtle Cottage is a low, two-storey building constructed of local Sherborne limestone rubble brought to course, with a pitched roof of single Roman tiles and ashlar coping to the north-west end. The roof features ridge stacks at the centre and right-hand end, both of brick, and a further brick stack to the rear wing. The windows are a mix of styles and dates.

The building is L-shaped on plan. The earliest part is a medieval open hall house, which was extended to the rear with a one and a half storey outshut, probably in the 18th century. A single-storey rear wing was subsequently added at the east end of the building. A detached outbuilding to the rear is not of special interest.

The principal north elevation faces onto the road. The central entrance has a low wide doorway with plain reveals and a six-panelled door with glazing to the two upper panels. To the left of the door is a ten-over-ten sash window under a timber lintel; to the right is an enlarged opening with timber sliding doors for vehicle entry. To the first floor there is a further sash window to the left-hand bay and two three-light casements to the centre and right-hand side which retain lead glazing and have timber lintels. The rear elevation of the outshut has irregularly-spaced windows of various styles, including three- and two-light casements, a 20th-century single window to the right of the rear doorway, and a gabled roof dormer. The wing to the right-hand bay breaks forwards and has a mid-20th-century cross window under a concrete lintel.

Internally, the cross passage has a plank and batten door in the left partition wall and a blocked doorway on the right side of the passage which formerly provided access to the right-hand reception room, now a garage. A projecting wall in the garage marks the position of a staircase that ran up to the attic. The room to the left of the passage has a chamfered framed ceiling with plain later cross beams and a square-headed stone fireplace with mouldings and a large blank area above the lintel. The window retains its panelled shutters and fluted mouldings to the recess. A doorway leads from this room into the rear wing. The ground floor of the rear outshut contains a kitchen, pantry and cloakroom. The 19th-century staircase is located to the right of the passage and has a moulded handrail, turned newels and stick balusters. A half landing provides access to the narrow first floor of the outshut which retains little evidence of historic features except for a substantial purlin that is probably re-used. The stairs dogleg and continue up to the upper floor of the main range which is divided into three bedrooms. The rooms at either end have mid- to late 19th-century fireplaces with timber surrounds, and the room to the far right (west) also has a chamfered axial ceiling beam. Most of the roof carpentry in the main range appears to be of 18th-century date with some later strengthening. A single, smoke-blackened arch-braced and collared truss survives in the left-hand (east) half of the attic. It is narrower than the existing side walls of the building and is probably early 15th century. The lower parts of this truss and its arch braces have been truncated and are now trenched into a modern tie beam.

Plain cast-iron railings stand to the front right of the entrance. To the rear of the house is a detached outbuilding built against the west boundary wall to the garden. It is constructed of stone rubble and has a monopitch roof clad in corrugated sheeting. There are two 20th-century windows to the west elevation and a doorway in the north return.