55 and 56 Dertford

Two semi-detached cottages, originally a single house, were built in the late 18th century. Extensions added to the east and west in the late 20th century are not included in this listing. The cottages are constructed of stone and brick, with some rendered areas, and feature chamfered stone quoins and stone mullion windows. The roof is clay tiled, with a 20th-century brick stack on the west gable end and a brick axial stack to No 55.

The rectangular plan includes a small wing on the north side, and internally the layout has been reconfigured from a probable three-cell design. The south elevation, originally the main facade, has five window bays and a central doorway to the original house’s core, now divided between the two cottages. The doorway is topped by a flat stone hood supported on cyma-moulded brackets, and the original windows are stone-mullion two-light casements. On the north elevation, a small gabled wing is divided between the cottages; No 55 includes a brick porch and mullioned concrete/stone windows.

The interior of No 55 retains some original features. A lounge off the main entrance features a stop-chamfered ceiling beam, a relocated timber-panelled door with glazed diamond-shaped openings, and original built-in timber cupboards with H-hinges, alongside a later brick fireplace. A stone staircase leads to the basement. Upstairs, two bedrooms are located within the historic core. One larger bedroom has a stop-chamfered ceiling beam that extends into a corridor, a cast-iron fireplace, and a built-in timber cupboard with H-hinges. The smaller bedroom has a ceiling beam adjoining No 56. The attic rafters of the original 18th-century core are historic, but the rest of the roof structure has been altered.

No 56 was remodelled around 1988, shifting the staircase to a newly created hallway accessed via a modern porch on the north side. The ground floor now includes a kitchen (in the north wing) and a dining room in the historic section. The first floor contains two bedrooms within the historic core. Noteworthy features include the stone-mullion windows, a chamfered beam with stops in the dining room, and exposed floor joists in the kitchen. Windows and internal doors throughout both cottages have been replaced in the 20th century, except where noted. The late 20th-century extensions to both No 55 and No 56 are excluded from the listing as they do not possess special architectural or historic interest.