Church Gardens

House. It likely originated in the late 16th or early 17th century and was probably rebuilt or extended at the left end, with a single-storey addition at the right end. The walls are whitewashed cob with a thatched roof gabled at the ends; the rear ridge thatch has been replaced with corrugated iron. A front lateral projecting stack features set-offs and a bread oven, and the single-storey addition has a corrugated iron roof. The thatched range is a single depth, featuring a stair hall between two rooms. A thick internal cob wall and the eaves level suggest that the left-hand room is a rebuilding or extension. The original plan was likely two rooms and a through passage with a projecting stair turret to the rear of the passage. 20th-century alterations include the insertion of a straight stair in the passage, adjacent to a late 20th-century bathroom which has altered the left-hand partition wall of the principal room. The house is two storeys high, with a single-storey addition at the right end. The irregular three-window front includes a large bread oven and a 20th-century glazed porch to the front door, positioned to the left of centre, leading into the former passage; a second doorway is on the right of the stack. The windows are 2-light casements with 6 panes per light, and one 2-light mullioned window from the 17th century is positioned above the front door. Inside, there is an open fireplace with a 20th-century stone facing, and a deeply chamfered cross beam with stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. A former plank and muntin screen between the right-hand room and passage was removed when the bathroom was added. The stair turret was reused as part of the bathroom. Principal rafters appear to be straight, though roofspace access was unavailable during a survey in 1985. Church Gardens provides a good example of a small late 16th/early 17th century house, notable for its front elevation, and it has group value with Great Uppacott.