King William Cottage

King William Cottage is a house dating back to the early 17th century or earlier, with a high-quality remodelling occurring in the 1690s; it was thoroughly repaired after dereliction in the 1980s. The exterior is roughcast, with gabled ends and a thatched front to the ridge, and a slated rear. Tall, rebuilt stone rubble chimney shafts are present. The house originally had a three-room and passage plan, with stairs rising to the rear of the passage, which is located to the right of the centre. Rear outshuts are also present. The unusual room arrangement features a dining-room/parlour at the left end, a parlour at the right end, and what appears to be a hall or kitchen in the centre. The attic was once used for accommodation, although the stair to the attic no longer exists. The exterior has an asymmetrical five-window front. A recessed six-panel front door features a lead drip ledge. Most windows are 20th-century timber three-light casements with glazing bars, except for a pair on the right-hand side, which are 18th-century two-light 12-pane sash windows. On the right return, a two-light window with ovolo-moulded mullions is located at attic level, dating back to the 17th century. The interior passage floor was paved, with the left-hand partition moved in the late 1980s. The kitchen has a complete pitched stone floor and an open fireplace with a rough stone lintel and sandstone jambs. A complete 1700 panelled door leads to the parlour on the left end, which contains a plain fireplace with a rounded corner and timber lintel. A decorative moulded plaster oval from around 1700 is on the ceiling (a central rose was temporarily removed). A timber display cupboard with panelled doors and a shell back, of the same date, is also present. The right-hand room has original shutters and a late 18th-century panelled door, along with a matching cupboard door on the end wall. The staircase has stick balusters and a ramped pine handrail. The first-floor ceiling was removed in the left-hand room. The roof retains remains of a side-pegged jointed cruck roof; the crucks are intact to the front of the ridge, and the left-hand end was re-roofed following a collapse.