Waterhouse

The Waterhouse is a cottage, dating from the late 17th century, with an early to mid-18th century addition and alterations. Further alterations and an enlargement occurred in the late 20th century. The walls are of random stone rubble, with cob on the first floor, a stone plinth to the rear, and later raised cob eaves. The roof is thatched, hipped to the left and half-hipped to the right, with a catslide over a rear stair projection. A stone square end stack is present. The original plan comprised a single-room layout facing south. A larger principal room is to the right, featuring an external end stack and an entrance at the left-hand end. A rectangular stair projection extends from the rear of the right-hand end. An 18th-century room was added to the left, initially consisting of a scullery with a loft above. The eaves were raised over the original 17th-century part, likely during the 18th-century enlargement. The initial entrance to the 17th-century cottage was likely in the left-hand end, but the current entrance appears to have been a window, later converted into a doorway, evidenced by a straight joint and a plastered former jamb. Later 20th-century internal alterations and an addition to the left were in progress at the time of survey. The exterior presents a symmetrical front with three windows to the first floor and two to the ground floor; the end windows were undergoing rebuilding with concrete block reveals and concrete lintels at the time of survey. A central first-floor window is a 20th-century wooden casement. A central late-19th-century half-glazed 4-panelled door is set beneath a wooden lintel. The stack on the right-hand gable end has canted sides, weathering above offsets, and a later curved bread oven projection. A wooden squinch is located between the stack and the wall at eaves level, likely inserted to support the cob when the eaves were raised. The stair projection is visible to the rear. Inside the right-hand ground-floor room, a 17th-century chamfered cross beam with scroll stops and half beams with run-out stops remain, with joists resting in recesses within the beams. An original 17th-century fireplace features splayed, roughly-dressed stone jambs and a deep cambered wooden lintel with scroll stops. A bread oven with a door is located to the left of the fireplace. A window, featuring an integral seat, is on the right side of the fireplace and had been replaced in the late 20th century. The front door was formerly a window, with a straight joint in the internal masonry to the left and a plastered former jamb visible evidence. The first floor to the right was originally divided into two rooms by stud partitions, which were later removed in the late 20th century. A plastered soffit is present in the right-hand part of the roof, with an unplastered space over a former loft to the left. The original thatched roof is largely intact, with a visible 18th-century section featuring a principal-rafter truss and pairs of purlins; the roofspace above the right-hand part was not inspected.