Hernaford Cottage

Hernaford Cottage is a farmhouse, later converted into cottages and now reunited into a single dwelling. It likely dates from the 16th century or earlier, with significant remodelling occurring around the early to mid 18th century. The construction is of rendered stone, with an asbestos slate hipped roof and a half-hipped rear wing. Rendered stone chimney stacks are also present.

The original plan may have been a three-room and through-passage layout, with the lower end of the house situated to the right. The through passage doorways were subsequently blocked, and a lower side partition removed. The lower room is relatively small and may have been shortened at some point. A central axial hall stack backs onto what was formerly the passage, and a lateral stack is located at the rear of the large inner room, which includes a stair turret at its upper end. A rear wing extends from the upper end of the house, with a possible garderobe incorporated into its upper side. A projection is situated at the front of the inner room, where a doorway was inserted in the 18th century, and another doorway accesses a passage inserted into the upper end of the hall. Circa 18th-century lean-to outshuts are present at the rear and in the angle with the stair turret.

The west front has asymmetrical fenestration arranged towards the left end, featuring a four-window range. A 16-pane sash window is located on the ground and first storeys of the right end. A central ground floor tripartite sash window is positioned in the hall, with flanking 4-pane sashes. Above these are a 3-light and a 1-light casement, and a 3-light casement is present on the ground and first storeys of the left end; all windows have glazing bars. A pair of doorways are located to the left of centre, each with a rendered stone porch featuring an open front and a raking scantle slate roof, and a panelled and plank door. The stair turret on the north end has a small slit window.

Internally, a plastered partition separates the inner room from the hall, forming the upper side of an inserted passage, with a later brick partition on its lower side. Fireplaces have been blocked and replaced with later insertions. The stair turret contains winder stairs rising from the end wall of the inner room. A recess in the wall of a chamber in the rear wing may be a garderobe, with a cupboard recessed below. The projection on the front of the upper end is not visible from within. A blocked doorway is present at the rear of the lower end, but the original front doorway opposite has been blocked. All ceiling beams are covered, and few interior details are visible. The roof contains circa late 17th or 18th-century trusses with collars halved and pegged to the face of the principals; the rafters have been replaced. The rear wing roof was not inspected. The property was likely the main house at Hernaford prior to the construction of Hernaford Farmhouse in the early 19th century. Hernaford was first documented in 1285 and was previously a medieval mansion.