Burnhills

Burnhills is a house likely dating from the 17th century, substantially refurbished around 1840 and modernised in approximately 1970. The construction combines plastered cob and rubble with rubble stacks topped with plastered 19th-century brick and a slate roof dating to around 1840. Originally a 3-room plan house facing west, it features an entrance hall and staircase positioned to the right (south) of centre, between the two primary heated rooms. A small room is situated on the left end, with a stack at that right end and a central rear lateral stack. The front elevation presents a regular, though not symmetrical, three-window facade. A central ground-floor bay window, incorporating casements with glazing bars, has been added; the remaining windows are 16-pane sashes, with the exception of a first-floor window on the right, all featuring horns. A 20th-century door is set within a wide, hipped, slate-roofed porch, supported by plain timber posts, on the right side of centre. The interior is largely the result of 19th- and 20th-century modernisation, although an original 17th-century fireplace is exposed in the right-hand room. This fireplace possesses volcanic ashlar sides with neatly chamfered jambs, a plain oak lintel supported by oak pads, and incorporates an inserted 19th-century oven on the left side, complete with a cast iron door. The roof was not inspected. Burnhills stands at the end of the main street within the unusually unspoiled and picturesque hamlet of Coleford.