Escot Cottages

TALATON SY 09 NE 6/164 Nos. 1 and 2 Escot Cottages 10.9.82 GV II

Pair of cottages. Mid-late C17, enlarged in the mid-late C19, some C20 modernisation. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble or cob stacks topped with C19 and C20 brick; thatch roof. Plan: pair of cottages facing south-east and built down a hillslope. No. 1 is the rignt (north-eastern) cottage at the downhill end. It has a 3-room plan. An axial stack between the centre and right rooms serves back-to-back fireplaces. The left room is small and unheated, some kind of service room. No. 2 to left has a 2-room plan with an axial stack between. It seems that the cottages were made by dividing and enlarging a stroll C17 farmhouse which occupied the space between the 2 stacks. It apparently had a 3-room plan with central service room. The rooms each end were added in the C19. 2 storeys with secondary leanto brick outshots to rear and C20 extension on the left end. Exterior: irregular 5-window front overall of C19 and C20 casements with glazing bars, most of the first floor windows have thatch eyebrows over. Both cottages have roughly central doorways which contain part-glazed C20 doors with contemporary porches. The roof is half-hipped each end. Interior of both cottages is largely the result of C19 and C20 modernisations. Most of the structural carpentry is plastered over and all the fireplaces are blocked by C20 grates. However the right room of No. 2 has a deeply chamfered crossbeam and above the roof is carried on a side-pegged jointed cruck truss. The first floor of No. 1 was not available for inspection at the time of this survey.

Listing NGR: SY0828597717