Spindleberry Kellys and Kethane Cottages

A row of three cottages located in East Street, Chulmleigh, originally dating to the 16th century, although earlier fabric may survive. The cottages are constructed of painted rendered stone rubble and cob, with a thatched roof featuring gable ends. There is a stone rubble stack at the left end, an axial brick stack, and two rendered rear stacks towards the right end of the building.

The original layout, and subsequent development, of the cottages is not fully understood. They were historically occupied as five single-room cottages, although were reduced to three in the late 20th century. Spindleberry, the cottage at the left end, is comprised of two rooms, with direct entry into the right-hand room and a staircase running alongside the front wall of the left-hand room. Kelly’s Cottage, in the centre, is a single room plan but includes a 20th-century flat-roofed two-storey extension to the rear. It has direct entry into the front room, a rear lateral stack for heating, and a staircase running alongside the left-hand wall. Kethane Cottage, at the right end, has undergone significant alterations in the 20th century, incorporating the two remaining cottages from the original arrangement. Entry to the left-hand room is from a through-passage at the left end, with direct entry to the right-hand room, which is heated by a rear lateral stack.

The interior of Spindleberry Cottage suggests the left-hand room was an early 17th-century addition, while the right-hand room, Kelly’s Cottage, and part of Kethane Cottage may originally have formed a single tenement, potentially of a three-room and through-passage type. The right-hand room of Spindleberry Cottage features a chamfered cross ceiling beam with keel stops, and a bressumer. The left-hand room has an ovolo moulded fireplace lintel with a deep chamfered bressumer above.

The exterior has two window ranges to Spindleberry, with 3-light casement windows (3 panes per light) on each floor, the upper floor windows being 19th-century, and ground floor windows being 20th-century replacements. Kelly’s Cottage has a single 20th-century 3-light casement window on each floor. Kethane Cottage has a three-window range, with 20th-century 3-light casement windows on the upper floor. Three principal doorways are each sheltered by thatched hoods, with a plank door at the left end of Kethane Cottage. The roofspace was not accessible, but it is likely that an early roof structure remains.