Little Whitnage Whitnage Cottage

Whitnage Cottage and Little Whitnage are two cottages in Uplowman, formerly a single farmhouse. The building dates from the early or mid 16th century, with major improvements in the late 16th and 17th centuries, late 19th century modernisation, and renovation around 1960.

The building is constructed of plastered stone rubble, probably with some cob, with stone rubble and cob stacks topped with 19th and 20th century brick. The roof is concrete tile, formerly thatch. The structure is L-shaped, built alongside the road on a hillslope, facing north-north-west. It is now divided into two cottages but originally contained a 3-room-and-through-passage plan.

Little Whitnage occupies the former service end parlour and the site of the passage at the right (west) end. The lower passage partition has been removed, so the passage and parlour now form one room. The former parlour has a projecting gable-end stack. Whitnage Cottage occupies the former hall and inner room end, with a large axial cob stack backing onto the site of the former passage. The inner room end has been subdivided or enlarged into two rooms, and there was once a gable-end stack, now demolished.

The early or mid 16th century house was an open hall house, open to the roof and heated by an open hearth fire. The hall fireplace was added in the mid or late 16th century. The service end was rebuilt in the early 17th century as a parlour, and the hall was probably floored over at the same time and converted to a kitchen. The inner room end has been much altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. The farmhouse was probably converted to cottages in the 18th century. A one-room extension was built at right angle to the rear of the inner room end around 1960.

Both cottages are two storeys with 20th century service outshots across the whole of the front. The exterior features an irregular three-window front and four windows to the service outshots, all 20th century casements with only a couple retaining glazing bars. Little Whitnage has a front doorway into the service outshot to the right of centre, while Whitnage Cottage's doorway is in the left (west) gable end, both containing 20th century doors. The roof is gable-ended.

A restored late 16th to early 17th century four-light oak-mullioned window is located at the right (west) end, with narrow lights having Tudor arch heads. The rear has similar fenestration to the front, although Whitnage Cottage has a mid or late 17th century first floor window with two lights, an oak frame with a flat-faced mullion, rectangular panes of leaded glass, and an original iron casement with ornate wrought iron catch.

In Whitnage Cottage, a short section of oak plank-and-muntin screen is exposed between the former hall and inner room, possibly an original feature with painted traces of mid or late 16th century colour showing chevron patterns on the headbeam and muntins and floral motifs on the planks. The hall contains a large stone rubble fireplace with a 19th century side oven. It has a soffit-chamfered oak lintel resting on a large oak corbel on the left side. The probably early 17th century crossbeam has deep hollow soffit chamfers and is unstopped. The roof structure over Whitnage Cottage was replaced in the 20th century.

In Little Whitnage, the former service end parlour has a good nine-panel ceiling of intersecting beams with broad hollow soffit-chamfers, stopping on the line of the former passage lower side partition, which still survives (moved back slightly to line the present party wall). It is an oak plank-and-muntin screen containing a blocked crank-headed doorway. The roof over this section is early, comprising two bays. The inner (eastern) bay is original with purlins and common rafters heavily smoke-blackened from the original open hearth fire. The truss and outer (western) bay are associated with the early or mid 17th century rebuild. The truss has a front side-pegged jointed cruck principal but rear straight principal. Also 17th century is the oak-framed partition between the first floor chambers. This multi-phase former farmhouse forms part of a group of interesting listed buildings in the hamlet of Whitnage.