The Cottage

The Cottage is a mid-to-late 17th century cottage situated on Frogmore Road, East Budleigh. It is a two-room plan cottage facing south, constructed with plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with cob or stone rubble stacks topped with 19th century brick and a thatched roof. The larger room is located on the right (east) side and features a gable-end entry in front of the stack. However, an internal cupboard alcove suggests a possible original doorway at the right end of the front. A newel stair is located within a rear projecting turret. The left-hand room was originally divided into two smaller rooms by an axial partition, which has since been removed, and the stack on this end may be a later addition. A 20th century kitchen extension has been added to the left end of the rear elevation.

The main cottage is two storeys high with a two-window front featuring 20th century casement windows with glazing bars, and a 20th century door, now positioned in the right-hand end, although the original doorway was possibly at ground floor right. The roof is gable-ended.

Internally, the larger room retains an exposed soffit-chamfered crossbeam, but the original fireplace is blocked by a 20th century grate. The smaller room has a 20th century beam marking the line of the original axial partition, and a 20th century grate. The roof over the larger bedroom is supported by a side-pegged jointed cruck roof truss. The roofspace is inaccessible.

The Cottage is a well-preserved example of a small 17th century house, a type that is rare in Devon. The gable-end entry, if original, represents a plan form uncommon in Devon, although more typical of Somerset.