The Old Smithy

The Old Smithy is a house dating back to the 17th century, with additions and alterations made in the 19th century. Originally a two-room cottage, it now has a double-depth plan due to the addition of a rear block. The structure is predominantly cob with a stone plinth, roughcast render, and a gabled-end wheat reed thatched roof over the front. The rear block has a gabled-end slate roof. The front elevation is symmetrical, featuring a three-window range. The upper floor has three three-light windows under eyebrow eaves, with each light being round-headed and containing polygonal leaded panes, originally fitted with catches. A porch is supported by shaped brackets. A planked door and frame, dating to the early 19th century, is present. The ground floor features three-light windows with square heads and Tudor-style hood moulds. The left-hand side elevation includes a 20th-century roundel at ground-floor level. A 19th-century oriel window, with a 1:3:1 arrangement of lights and a slated roof, is supported by shaped struts, each light under a round-headed arch. The glass was re-leaded around 1900, retaining some early 19th-century coloured glass. The rear block has two 20th-century ground floor windows, and the rear elevation has 2 and 3-light metal-framed windows dating to around 1920. Inside, the right-hand room features two chamfered beams with step-hollow stops. The upper rooms also have cross beams, stopped and chamfered. The roof structure has morticed and pegged principals, with original thatch to the front and a 17th-century string to the bundles.