Mellow Thatch Mellow Thatch Cottage Mellow Thatch, Mellow Thatch Cottage (Alias Hoopers), And Pines Pines

Mellow Thatch, Mellow Thatch Cottage (also known as Hoopers), and Pines are three adjoining cottages located on the north side of Church Street in Morchard Bishop. They date from the early to mid-17th century and the 19th century. The cottages are constructed from plastered cob and rubble, with rubble stacks that are topped with 19th and 20th-century brick. The roofs are thatched, although Mellow Thatch Cottage has been replaced with asbestos tiles, and Pines has asbestos slate.

Mellow Thatch is situated at the right (east) end and is a two-room cottage featuring a large rear lateral stack. It has a two-window front with late 19th-century casements that include glazing bars, and a third window at the right end on the ground floor that blocks a former door; the current door is located at the right end. The roof is gable-ended to the right and has low thatch eyebrows over the first-floor windows.

In the center is Mellow Thatch Cottage, which has a symmetrical two-window front with late 19th-century casements and a contemporary central plank door. It also features a gabled porch with slate roofing and trellis-filled sides.

Pines is at the left (west) end and has an irregular three-window front with 20th-century casements. The right or central window blocks a former doorway, with the present door located at the left end. Its roof is also gable-ended.

The interior of Mellow Thatch retains many early 17th-century features. The left room was formed from two former rooms, each with chamfered crossbeams that have late step stops, and a fireplace in the rear wall. The left fireplace is blocked, although its oven projection is visible externally. The right fireplace is made of rubble, and its oak lintel has been cut back to create a segmental arch. There is a brick oven to the right and a cream oven to the left. The roof of Mellow Thatch features 17th-century A-frame trusses with pegged dovetail lap-jointed collars. The interiors of Mellow Thatch Cottage and Pines have not been inspected. It appears that Mellow Thatch may have originally been two one-room plan cottages, possibly serving as church almshouses.