Higher Cotley Farmhouse

House. Dating from the early 17th century or possibly earlier, with a 19th or 20th-century addition at the right end. The walls are whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, with some whitewashed rendered brick at the right end. The roof is thatched with wheat straw, hipped at the left end and gabled at the right end, featuring a projecting front lateral stack with a tall brick chimney shaft, and an axial stack (formerly a gable end stack). A rear brick chimney serves a lean-to. The original 17th-century plan was of three rooms and a through passage, with the lower end located to the right. The hall was heated by a front lateral stack, the lower end by a gable end stack, and the inner room was unheated. The roof trusses suggest a re-roofing occurred in the 18th century, when the eaves may have been raised. Two rear lean-tos are likely largely 19th-century. In the 19th century, a straight stair was inserted against the rear wall of the hall, and the rear door of the passage was blocked, creating a rear corridor on the first floor. The house has been extended at the right end, possibly incorporating a former outbuilding, to create a four-room and through-passage plan. The front elevation is irregular, with a four-window arrangement, the axial stack marking the right-hand end of the 17th-century building. A large lateral stack with slate set-offs and a brick shaft is located to the left, and a doorway leads to the passage to the right of the stack. The eaves of the thatch are eyebrowed over the three first-floor windows on the left. The windows are 2-light casements, with small panes; some are iron casements, while others have 20th-century square-leaded panes. There is an additional entrance into the right-hand room on the extreme right. Internally, the passage plan survives, with the rear door blocked. A 20th-century screen has replaced a former screen to the higher side of the passage. The hall fireplace has been largely rebuilt, and the hall features a chamfered cross beam with ogee stops. The lower end fireplace is blocked. The pegged collar rafter roof is likely 18th-century, with slim, low, straight collars halved and pegged to the principals; the ridge is held by long pegs forming a V with one of the principal rafters. This is an attractive cob and thatch house which retains its early plan.