Ridge Cottage

Ridge Cottage, originally a row of three cottages, dates to the early 16th century. It was later converted into stables and a garage in the early 20th century and then into a single house in the mid-20th century. The construction is partly of plastered cob on rubble footings, and partly of plastered rubble. It has rubble stacks topped with 20th-century brick, and a slate roof. The house originally had a three-room plan, facing north, comprising three single-cell houses. There are end stacks to the outer room, and an axial stack to the right (west) of the centre room. It is two storeys high. The front is irregular, with 20th-century casement windows with glazing bars. On the first floor, to the left, is an early 16th-century oak two-light window with a trefoil head, which has been re-used. The first floor to the left also features a 20th-century gable-roofed dormer, and in the centre is a large, early 20th-century loading hatch with a gabled roof. The roof is gable-ended to the left and hipped to the right. Photographs taken before rendering was applied reveal the original arrangement of two-window fronts to the left (east) and centre, with separate entrances. A butt joint to the right of centre shows that the former right-end cottage is rubble-built and later than the other two and had a single-window front with a door at the right end. Some blocked openings are visible inside. The roof is hipped to the right and gable-ended to the left. A 20th-century door and a glass-sided conservatory have been added to the rear. The interior was significantly altered in the early 20th century. Only one original beam remains, located in the middle room; it is chamfered with diagonal cut stops. The end stacks are of dressed volcanic stone, with plain oak lintels. The central fireplace is blocked. The original roof structure survives, including three side-pegged jointed crucks. The building was originally built on glebe land, very close to the church, and was likely almshouses. The left end is said to have once extended further, with a first-floor schoolroom above the gateway into the churchyard.