Bridge Cottage Halfpenny Cottage Little Thatch The Very Cottage

The Very Cottage, Little Thatch, Halfpenny Cottage, and Bridge Cottage are a group of four cottages located in East Budleigh, likely built in the late 18th to early 19th century. They are constructed of plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with stone rubble or brick stacks that are topped with plastered brick. The cottages have thatched roofs, with tiles on the outshots.

These cottages face south and are arranged in a row, each originally designed as a single-room plan. The outer cottages, The Very Cottage (No. 2) on the right and Bridge Cottage (No. 5) on the left, feature end stacks, while Little Thatch (No. 3) and Halfpenny Cottage (No. 4) have rear lateral stacks. Notably, No. 5 has been modified to include two rooms with lateral stacks in a rear block at right angles, which were previously more single-room plan cottages. There are continuous outshots across the rear of the row.

The main block is two storeys high and presents a mostly regular but not symmetrical five-window front, primarily featuring 19th and 20th-century casements with glazing bars, although a couple of the 20th-century casements lack glazing bars. Halfpenny Cottage (No. 4) has a ground floor 19th-century tripartite sash window with a central 12-pane sash. Nos. 3, 4, and 5 each have a doorway on the right side and a single window on the left side for each floor. In contrast, The Very Cottage (No. 2) has its door on the left side and an additional first-floor window above. Nos. 2 and 5 have 19th-century six-panel doors, while Nos. 3 and 4 feature 20th-century part-glazed and panelled doors.

It is possible that No. 5 is an addition, as its front is set back slightly from the others, and the roof ridge level is lower. The roof is hipped at both ends. The rear block faces into a courtyard and has a similar arrangement of mostly 20th-century windows and doors. The interiors have not been inspected. This row of single-room plan cottages is a rare survival in Devon and contributes to the group value of other attractive listed buildings in the area.