Clematis Cottage

Clematis Cottage is an estate house of late medieval origins, remodelled in multiple phases. The building shows evidence of at least two major periods of alteration: one phase possibly dating to 1593 (marked by a painted date on the front elevation), and another phase in the late 17th century when the left (west) end was partly rebuilt and raised. A lean-to addition in slate was added to the right end in the 18th or 19th century.

The exterior is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob and stone, with a thatched roof of two heights featuring a plain ridge and gables at both ends. The lean-to addition is slated. An axial stack stands at the junction of the two roof sections, with a stone shaft that has been repaired in brick at the top; the right end of the main range has a modern brick chimney shaft.

The house is two storeys with an asymmetrical two-window front, the roof being higher at the left end. An off-centre gabled porch with a small window on its left return and internal benches shelters the through passage. The porch has a 19th-century plank front door. Windows are late 19th or 20th-century timber casements with glazing bars: a three-light first-floor casement and three-light ground-floor casement serve the left block; the lower-roofed right block has eaves thatch eyebrowed over a two-light casement and a three-light ground-floor casement.

The plan comprises a two-room main range with a through passage, plus a single-storey one-room lean-to addition at the right end. The left-hand room is deeper and incorporates a narrow service room and stair to the rear. A 19th or 20th-century axial passage links the through passage to the lean-to kitchen at the front.

The house originated as a late medieval open hall. The jointed cruck roof structure, largely concealed by plaster, survives over the right-hand end and shows smoke-blackening where plaster has fallen away, confirming its open hall phase origin. The apex is plastered over in the roofspace. The left-hand end timbers are probably 18th or 19th-century replacements. The right gable end wall of the main range is timber-stud construction, with studs visible internally.

Internally, the left side of the through passage retains the remains of a plank and muntin screen, cut off at the bottom but retaining its head beam, re-sited about one metre below the ceiling. A fine 17th-century ovolo-moulded doorframe leads into the left-hand room, which features a deeply-chamfered axial beam with step stops, an open fireplace with a chamfered lintel, a bread oven, and chamfered Beerstone jambs. The right-hand room has an axial beam and exposed joists with what may be an internal jetty on the passage side; its fireplace is 20th-century and the stack may be a late addition. A framed partition on the first floor appears to align with the joist ends of this putative jetty.

The house shows complex evolution. It is unclear which end served as the higher end of the medieval hall, though evidence is mixed: a feature possibly representing an internal jetty survives in the right-hand room with a framed partition above it, yet the left-hand room has a stack backing onto the passage, suggesting it may have been the higher end with an inserted hall stack. The deeper left-hand room may have been entirely rebuilt in the 17th century as a parlour and possibly raised at that time.

A rendered cob wall to the right (west) of the house is included in the listing.

The cottage exemplifies the character of Broadhembury, an outstanding estate village characterised by cob and thatch houses. It is one of eight closely-spaced medieval houses in the village.