Old Wottons

OLD WOTTONS is a farmhouse, now a house, dating from the early to mid 16th century, with alterations from the 17th and 19th centuries. The walls are rendered rubble, topped by a scantle slate roof which is hipped at each end. There are four chimney stacks: two are lateral on the front elevation, one on the left has a 17th-century brick shaft, the other is rendered rubble and projects with offsets. The left-hand gable end chimney is of rendered brick, while the rear lateral rendered stone stack projects from an outshut with offsets.

Originally, the house followed a three-room and through-passage plan with an open hall. It now has two passages, the lower, right-hand one likely being the original. The hall was ceiled in the 17th century, with a lateral stack added to the front. The inner room had a gable end stack for heating, while the lower room was unheated. The higher end of the house was considerably altered and enlarged, probably in the 19th century. Continuous rear outshuts appear to be from the 19th century as well.

The front elevation is asymmetrical, with four windows on each floor. A first-floor left-hand window is a 20th-century three-light casement with small panes; the other three first-floor windows are similar but date to the 19th century. Ground floor windows are 3-light 20th-century casements, except for the right-hand one, which is a 2-light window. The centre window is in a slight bay adjoining a chimney, with a slate pentice roof extending to the right over a 20th-century plank and glazed door. A similar pentice roof is above a 20th-century glazed door to the left of the chimney stack. There is a projecting lean-to to the far left end of the front with late 20th-century casements, and another lean-to against the left gable end. A continuous outshut runs along the rear.

Inside, several original and early features remain. One original truss survives over the hall and has threaded purlins, morticed at the apex, with a dove-tailed collar fastened to the principal rafters. Three similar trusses also survive, with clean collars; the collars on these have been replaced, and the purlins removed. Replacement trusses, some probably from the 17th century, also have threaded purlins and are morticed at the apex but with lapped collars. The hall has a partially exposed 17th-century plank and muntin screen at its lower end, with beaded edges on the muntins and head beam. A partition at the higher end of the hall is concealed, but is likely another screen. The hall fireplace has a chamfered wooden lintel with indistinct stops. The two cross beams to the ceiling appear to be later replacements, although the original joists survive; those at the lower end have ogee and hollow step stops, while those at the middle have simpler hollow step stops. The joists at the upper end of the room are rougher replacements. Ground floor doors are 6-panel, 19th-century, and there is one 18th-century two-panel door with H-L hinges to a cupboard under the stairs; a similar door survives on the first floor. The building is well-preserved and retains a traditional facade and several early features.