Church Cottage

Church Cottage is a house, likely formed from two or three cottages. Parts of the building date back to 1659, as inscribed on a fireplace lintel, with other sections being from the late 18th to early 19th century. The walls are a mix of plastered cob and rubble construction, with stacks made of rubble and brick, topped with 20th-century brickwork. The roof is corrugated asbestos, replacing what was originally thatch. The cottage has a three-room plan, facing north, with the south side overlooking the churchyard of St Matthew’s Church. Two axial stacks serve the centre and west rooms. The south front, with a regular arrangement of four windows, was made circa 1970 and features casement windows without glazing bars. The roof is gable-ended. The north front is more irregular, with a 20th-century brick slate-roofed porch and some casement windows that have glazing bars. The western room, dating back to 1659, contains a rubble fireplace with an oak lintel inscribed with the date. The fireplace has chamfered spine beams with late stepped stops, which are also visible on the deep chamfer of a crossbeam. Only the bases of the truss principal are visible, but they may be original A-frames. The centre room has two plain chamfered crossbeams and a renovated late 18th to early 19th-century brick fireplace.