Searles

Searles, also known as French Nut Tree Cottage, is a detached house located in Clayhidon, dating from the late 16th century or early 17th century, with significant alterations over time. The building is constructed from random rubble chert and features a hipped slate roof. Due to extensive modifications, the original layout of the house is hard to determine. It has two jointed cruck trusses with collars that are both chamfered and stopped, suggesting it may have once been part of a larger structure, possibly a wing, as such high-quality roof carpentry is uncommon in a house of this size.

The house has a right-hand end stack and stands two storeys tall. The front elevation displays irregular fenestration, including two half dormers and two 20th-century casement windows on the ground floor. There is evidence of masonry disturbance on the left-hand side, indicating some rebuilding, while the end elevation dates to the mid-20th century. At the rear, there is a lean-to with a single light window to the left of the doorway, which may be late 16th century, featuring chamfered jambs and a cranked, pegged lintel.

Inside, the left-hand room contains two cross ceiling beams that are chamfered with hollow step stops, along with a chamfered half beam near the rebuilt end wall. The roof features two jointed cruck trusses, with high-set chamfered collars, trenched purlins, and Alcock F2 type apex carpentry. The chamfered collars likely were visible in what was once a high-status chamber, possibly in a parlour wing. The first recorded mention of the name Searles appears in the will of John Searle of Hemyock, who died in 1613, suggesting he may have been the builder of the house.