Furzedown Cottages

Furzedown Cottages comprise a row of four cottages, likely originating from a 17th-century core and converted to cottages in the 19th century. The construction is predominantly cob on rubble footings, with stone rubble stacks topped with 19th and 20th-century brick. Some areas are plastered, and the roofs are thatched. The cottages face southwest. Number 1 is at the left (northwestern) end, and Number 4 is at the right (southeastern) end, each with a slightly different layout. Stacks are located at the left end and in the party walls between the cottages, except at the right end (Number 4), which has a rear lateral stack. Each cottage has a 2-room plan. All have circa 1960 service outshots to the rear.

The frontages vary. Number 1 has a 2-window arrangement with 20th-century casements without glazing bars to the ground floor, and a single late 19th-century casement with glazing bars to the first floor. The central entrance is a 20th-century door within a gabled porch covered with shingles. Number 2 features a nearly symmetrical 3-window front with casements, 20th-century on the ground floor and 19th-century on the first floor, some with leaded glass panes. It also has a central 20th-century door and a gabled, shingle-roofed porch. Numbers 3 and 4 have irregular 2-window fronts with 20th-century casements without glazing bars and 20th-century doors. Number 4 also has a gabled and shingle-roofed porch. The roof is gable ended to the left and hipped to the right. A buttress projects between Numbers 3 and 4, and the rear of Number 2 shows projecting short midstrey walls from former barns.

The interiors display mostly late 19th and 20th-century detailing. It is believed the former farmhouse was located at the right end, but no original carpentry details are currently visible in Numbers 3 or 4. The overall appearance is particularly attractive when viewed from a distance along the main Exeter-North Devon road through Copplestone Village.