Lower Nettacott

Lower Nettacott is a substantial house dating back to the 16th and early 17th centuries. The walls are built of cob on a stone plinth, with a slate roof (formerly thatched). Originally designed with a three-room and through-passage plan, a room was added early in its history to the left-hand side. The house has two storeys throughout.

The front elevation is dominated by an external stack with a small fire window, positioned to the right of the through-passage entrance, which features a large, wooden, semi-circular headed arch and jambs. To the right of the stack is an original ten-light wooden window with a transom and mullions featuring ovolo mouldings. All other windows are 20th-century replacements, with seven on each floor. The rear elevation has been much altered, with all windows now being 20th-century replacements. An old photograph shows that there was originally a single two-light mullioned window on this side. The back door to the through passage has been blocked, but the single-chamfered arch remains. The left-hand gable end has three small original window openings, while the right-hand gable has none.

Internally, the hall and inner chamber were originally to the right of the passage, with a service room to the left, and the later room to the left of this. This sequence is reflected in the roof’s bays. There are five roof bays in total; four have oak cruck rafters, and the left-hand (newer) bay is wider and uses chestnut cruck rafters. The through passage has been blocked by a 20th-century staircase at the rear. The hall was originally open to the roof, with evidence of the service-end rooms being jettied approximately three feet into the hall space. The large hall fireplace has stone jambs and an oak lintel that also forms a substantial mantelpiece, all from a single timber. Mouldings are ovolo and cavetto. The screen originally dividing the hall and inner chamber has been removed to the right-hand end of the house. Surviving elements include panel and stud construction, two door lintels, single-chamfered posts with mortices and screen grooves, and single-chamfered beams. A stud and panel screen remains between the passage and the service room, and a stud and cob screen separates this room from the newer extension, which contains a single-chamfered elm main beam.