Abbots Cottage Thatchers

Abbots Cottage and Thatchers comprise three adjoining cottages located in Combe Raleigh. Nos 1 and 2 Thatchers are likely from the mid to late 17th century, while Abbots Cottage is thought to be a later addition, possibly dating to the 18th or 19th century. The construction uses flint rubble, rendered on the rear elevation, with a thatched roof that is gabled at the ends of the main range. An axial stack sits to the right of the center, constructed of stone rubble with Beerstone ashlar quoins, while a smaller stack is located at the left end.

The original layout of Nos 1 and 2 Thatchers was likely a two-room plan house, with a rear projection containing the staircase rising behind the central stack. No. 1 has been extended; a former single-storey lean-to at the right has been raised to two stories. The interior of No. 2 was not inspected but is probably a single-room plan. Abbots Cottage, attached to the left, appears to be a later addition, evidenced by a change in the front elevation’s plane.

The front elevation is asymmetrical with a five-window arrangement. Abbots Cottage has a double-fronted appearance with a 20th-century half-glazed front door and 2- and 3-light 20th-century casement windows. No. 2 Thatchers has a 19th or early 20th-century plank door, likely leading into a baffle entry facing the chimney breast, flanked by two 3-light timber casements with glazing bars. The window above the front door belongs to No. 1 Thatchers, which features two 2-light casements to the right of a 20th-century buttress. The rebuilt lean-to at the right end is whitewashed and rendered.

Inside No. 1 Thatchers, the ground floor room beneath the thatch features chamfered crossbeams with pyramid stops, exposed joists, and an open fireplace with Beerstone ashlar jambs and fireback, now with a replaced timber lintel. A winder stair is located in the projection. The first floor contains a chamfered stopped doorframe into a closet adjacent to the stack. No doorways into No. 2 were found during repairs, but the arrangement and quality of interior details suggest the cottages were originally built as one.

A sales catalogue from 1920 described the range as "3 picturesque stone-built thatched roof cottages containing convenient accommodation," mentioning a laundry with a furnace and ironing store, which might have been the function of the lean-to adjoining No. 1. The catalogue also referenced a "farmery" at the rear including a barn and a ten-stall shippon.