The Old Smithy

The Old Smithy is a house that was originally a cobbler's shop, dating from the late 17th to early 18th century, with extensions made in the 19th century. It is constructed of plastered cob on rubble footings, with cob and rubble stacks topped with 19th-century brick, and features a thatched roof. The gable-ended house faces north-east and consists of an original two-room layout with a central passage and an end stack in the left (south-east) room. In the 19th century, a stair was inserted, blocking the passage. An end stack was added to the right room, and a shop was built onto the right (north-west) end. The building has two storeys and an overall three-window front featuring late 19th to early 20th-century three-light casements with glazing bars and flat stucco architraves. The original cottage has two windows and a central door under a small hood. The shop window on the right has been blocked and replaced with a 20th-century door and window with glazing bars. Inside, some late 17th to early 18th-century features are visible, including a cob fireplace with a plain oak lintel, a chamfered crossbeam with run-out stops in the right room, and a plank door with an applied panel front leading from the passage to the left room. The roof is inaccessible.