Venn Cottage

Venn Cottage is a cottage, likely dating to the 18th or early 19th century. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob and stone with a thatched roof, featuring a plain ridge and gables at the left end and a hip at the right end. A projecting stack is located at the left end, and another at the rear right. A ground plan from 1961, prepared by A. W. Everett for the Devon Record Office, indicates a single-depth arrangement with two rooms; a larger, heated room to the left, likely used as a living room or kitchen, and a smaller room to the right, presumably for services. The rear right stack appears to serve an angle fireplace in the rear right corner of the service room, possibly a later addition from after the 18th century. The presence of two doors on the front suggests that the building may have been subdivided into two small cottages at some point. The Everett plan depicts a staircase within a rectangular projection at the rear left, rising from the larger room. A 20th-century lean-to with a corrugated iron roof is situated at the rear right. The cottage is approximately two storeys high and has a roughly symmetrical two-window front, with the thatch eaves projecting over the two first-floor windows. Two adjacent plank doors are positioned in the center of the front. The windows are generally 2-light casements with 6 panes per light, although the ground floor window on the right is a 20th-century metal window. Venn Cottage is located adjacent to the A396, with its gable end facing the road and situated below the level of the road. Further internal inspection may be necessary to refine the building's dating as features of interest may survive inside. A ground plan of Venn Cottage was drawn by A. W. Everett in 1961 and is held by the Devon Record Office.