Birds Cottage

Birds Cottage is a small farmhouse with late Medieval origins, modernized in the late 17th century with some 19th and late 20th century alterations including partial re-roofing in the late 20th century. It stands as an east-facing range, set back from the road.

The building is constructed of stone rubble with 19th century red brick quoins and a slate roof, formerly thatched, gabled at the ends with end stacks featuring red brick shafts. The present arrangement is a single-depth range, 2 rooms wide with a straight-run stair between the rooms and a single-storey lean-to adjoining at the left (south) end.

The existing building represents the higher end of a late Medieval open hall house. Surviving evidence suggests that a former cross or through passage and lower end room have disappeared from the south end. The left-hand room was originally open to the roof timbers as a 2-bay open hall with an open hearth fire. The right-hand room to the north has been much rebuilt and its roof structure replaced, but was likely originally a 2-storey or unheated single-storey inner room, indicated by a formerly closed truss which is smoke-stained on the south side only. The open hall appears to have been floored in the mid to late 17th century with a stack added backing on to the putative cross or through passage. Later alterations involved the addition of the stair, taken from the width of the 17th century hall, the virtual rebuilding of the inner room, and in the late 20th century, dividing the 17th century hall axially between a narrow kitchen at the rear and a small sitting room at the front.

Externally, the cottage presents a modest appearance of a 19th century building. The 2-window front has regular openings: a 20th century front door in the centre, a blocked doorway to the right of centre, and two 19th or 20th century timber casement windows with glazing bars. The lean-to at the left end serves as a porch.

Internally, the left-hand room contains chamfered crossbeams, one with pyramid stops, the cross beams extending through the modern partition that divides the room axially. There is a 20th century fireplace, possibly concealing earlier features. A chamfered cross beam against the north partition of the stair indicates that the stair was taken from the width of the 17th century hall. The right-hand room has a 20th century fireplace and 20th century axial beams.

The roof structure is an extremely interesting survival, particularly over the left (south) end. It comprises 2 bays of cruck construction trusses, presumed to be jointed crucks although the elbows are plastered over, with feet said to descend to the ground. The 2 trusses have mortised collars and a diagonally-set ridge with a triangular strengthening piece below the apex joint, dating to approximately 1500, possibly earlier. The original purlins survive in part, as do the rafters to the rear (west) of the ridge. The Medieval thatch was originally carried not on battens but on thick wattle, a section of which is preserved to the rear of the ridge. The wattle, rafters, ridge and trusses are thickly encrusted with soot from the open hearth, except for the right (north) face of the right (north) truss, which is clean. This truss was formerly closed, as evidenced by peg holes on the soffit of the strengthening piece. To the right (north), the roof structure is a 20th century replacement. Remnants of plaster on the wattle and lime wash on the sooted trusses indicate that the first floor rooms were originally open to the apex of the roof. The design of the Medieval roof trusses and the survival of the Medieval wattle make this a particularly interesting Medieval roof.

The cottage has group value with Birds Farmhouse on the other side of the road.