Thatch

Thatch is a cottage that likely dates from the 18th century, possibly the late 17th century, and was modernised around 1950. The building features a mix of plaster and colour-washed surfaces, with local stone and flint rubble construction. It has a stone rubble stack topped with 19th and 20th-century brick, and a thatch roof. The cottage has a two-room layout facing south-west, built on a hillside. The smaller room on the left (north-west) end is unheated, while the right room has a large projecting gable-end stack. A stair now rises between the two rooms, but there was likely a through passage originally. There are secondary outshots at the rear that have been converted for domestic use. The main cottage is two storeys high.

The exterior features a nearly symmetrical front with two windows, which are modern PVC with rectangular leaded patterns, dating from around 1980. The first-floor windows have low thatch eyebrows above them. The central doorway has a 20th-century plank door and is sheltered by a contemporary thatch-roofed porch supported by rustic posts. The main roof is hipped on the left and gable-ended on the right.

Inside, most of the features are the result of 20th-century modernisation, with only plain exposed carpentry visible. The fireplace is blocked by a 20th-century grate, but its large size is still apparent. The roof structure is not exposed. Thatch is part of a group of attractive thatch-roofed cottages, which includes Beckside Cottage and Ropley, as well as Thatchcote.