Shute Cottages

Shute Cottages is a row of four cottages, originally almshouses or a poorhouse, dating to the early to mid-16th century. The building is constructed of coursed, dressed slatestone walls with a slate roof, gabled at the left end and hipped to the right. Two stone rubble stacks with dripmoulds are present, one axial and one at the gable end.

The cottages are currently divided into two ground-floor cottages and two upper cottages, each with independent access from a higher ground level at the rear. While some internal alterations have occurred, the basic plan consists of two rooms downstairs, with attic rooms above. It's possible the cottages were originally two dwellings, with rear doorways added to create the upper units.

The asymmetrical front elevation features four windows. The left-hand end has been largely rebuilt using rubble stone, but a coved stone eaves cornice and chamfered plinth extend across the entire façade. On the first floor to the left are two early 20th-century four-pane sash windows; the left-hand window occupies a taller opening originally. 20th-century casements are located below. Two original round-arched doorways, typical of the South Hams style, are positioned to the left and right of centre. The left-hand doorway has a 20th-century glazed door, while the right-hand one has a late 19th- or early 20th-century plank door. A window opening to the right of the left-hand doorway formerly had a shouldered head. To the right of the left-hand doorway are two early 19th-century 16-pane horizontal sliding sash windows, one with a chamfered stone lintel. On the first floor to the right are two early 16th-century two-light granite mullion windows with segmental heads, along with numerous square putlog holes. Four 20th-century dormer windows illuminate the attic space.

The rear elevation, which opens onto the road on its first floor, has doorways at each end accessed by a short flight of stone steps. The left-hand doorway retains part of a chamfered stone head, while the other has a chamfered stone surround and a depressed segmental arched head; these may originally have been windows. An original two-light mullion window in the centre is similar to those on the front elevation. Otherwise, the rear elevation has 20th-century casements, some within original chamfered rubble openings.

One of the first-floor cottages was accessible during the survey and contained a small original fireplace with a stone lintel. Similar fireplaces likely remain in the other cottages, and the ground-floor cottages are believed to contain chamfered ceiling beams. The roof space was inaccessible at the time of the survey, but cruck trusses have been recorded within the building. This represents a very good example of a building type characteristic of the South Hams, with similar examples found in West Alvington and Churchstow. It has suffered relatively little modernization, preserving a distinctive external appearance.