Lower Brook

Lower Brook is a house with origins dating back to the early 16th century, with remodelling in the late 16th century and renovations in the late 20th century. It is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob, with some late 20th century stone rubble repairs at the rear. The roof is thatched, hipped at the left end and gabled at the right end, featuring a projecting left end stack and an axial stack. The current layout consists of two rooms and a cross passage, although part of the passage partition at the lower left end is missing. The hall stack backs onto the passage, and there is a heated room at the lower left end. There may have originally been an inner room at the right end.

Significant late 20th century renovations and the repositioning of old features have obscured the house's evolution, but it is believed to have originally been an open hall extending the full length of the current structure, likely floored over in two phases. A staircase has been added at the rear of the passage, and part of the lower end passage screen has been dismantled. The house is two storeys tall and has an asymmetrical three-window front, featuring a large semi-circular bread oven at the axial stack, a front door to the former passage located left of centre, and a gabled dormer to the right. The windows are a mix of two- and three-light casements, with either three or six panes per light.

Inside, there is a notable preservation of internal features. The hall is largely intact, with an open fireplace, a deeply-chamfered cross beam with step stops, and exposed joists. A half-beam suggests the possibility of an internal jetty. A trimmer beam about one metre in front of the fireplace indicates a potential hatch arrangement to direct heat into the first-floor room above the hall. There is a round timber doorway between the hall and the former passage. The left-hand room retains a section of plank and muntin screen and has a plain cross beam. Above the hall, a smoke-blackened jointed cruck truss features a collar mortised into the principal rafters and butt purlins, with the ridge extending the length of the house. Overall, Lower Brook is an evolved house that retains some significant 16th-century features.