Lower Tale Cottage

Lower Tale Cottage is a small farmhouse dating from the mid to late 19th century, with a modern extension added around 1980. The walls are plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with stacks constructed of stone rubble or cob, topped with 19th and 20th century brick, and covered by a thatched roof. Originally facing south-west, the house has a three-room plan with a through-passage. The north-west room was originally the kitchen, featuring a gable-end stack. It is separated from the parlour or hall by the passage, the rear doorway of which is now blocked. The parlour contains an axial stack backing onto the passage and a winder staircase to the rear. A small, unheated service room, likely a former dairy or buttery, is located at the south-east end. While the plan suggests origins as early as the 16th century as an open hall house, there is no structural evidence to support such an early date; it appears to be a single-phase house built in the mid to late 17th century. The house is two storeys high, with a single-storey extension on the left-hand end, added around 1980. The exterior has an irregular three-window front, with a fourth ground floor window in the extension, all featuring circa 1980 uPVC casement windows with glazing bars. The passage front doorway is located left of centre, set behind a contemporary thatched porch with a part-glazed door. The main roof is gable-ended to the left and half-hipped to the right. Inside, most of the features are from the 17th century. The former kitchen has a blocked fireplace, with a chamfered crossbeam displaying straight cut stops. The parlour/hall has a chamfered axial beam with scroll stops. The parlour fireplace has been plastered, featuring an oak lintel with a recessed, chamfered panel above the hearth, and a shallow bead moulding along the top of the lintel. The roof is said to contain probably original A-frame trusses, but was not inspected during the survey.