France Brook Cottage Francis Cottage

ASHTON HIGHER ASHTON SX 88 SE 6/25 Francis Cottage and France Brook Cottage 17.3.86 GV II 2 cottages, linked by a short covered walkway. Francis Cottage to the left (west) is probably mid C17, France Brook cottage may originally have been a-workshop and is probably C18 or early C19 in origin. Francis Cottage;Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; thatched roof, hipped at higher (north) end and half-hipped at lower (south) end; axial stack with truncated shaft. Plan: Original plan uncertain but it may have been a single storey and attic 1 room plan cottage with an integral single cell outshut at the higher (north) end, open to the roof and subsequently ceiled in the C18 or C19 forming a 2-room plan cottage with the higher end room remaining single-storey with an unused roofspace above. Doorway in lower room and blocked doorway on the front (west) side of the higher end room. At the rear (east) of the lower end room a circa C19 outshut contains the staircase to the chamber over the lower room. Exterior: Single-storey and attic. Asymmetrical 2 window (west) front: 2 late C19 or C20 3-light casements at the centre and to right of centre and a blocked doorway to left. Lower (south) end: doorway to left with C19-20 plank door and wooden canopy; early C20 2-light casement to right. Altered chamfered 2 light oak C17 window above. The thatched roof to right continues down over an outshut at the rear of the lower end. Interior: the lower (south) end room has a chamfered cross-beam with bar and hollow step stops and another light scantling chamfered cross-beam with run-out stops. A solid cob wall with a chimney stack between the 2 rooms. The stack has a large fireplace on the lower side with a concealed lintel and a late C19 cast iron grate on the higher side. Imposed in the front and rear room are the posts of a jointed open cruck truss which are chamfered on their south faces only and have jowled heads. The roof space above is not accessible. The roof structure over the lower end can be seen in the first floor room; there is no truss and the purlins are supported on the gable walls. France Brook Cottage Whitewashed rendered cob and stone; deep hipped thatched roof; probably C20 rear centre stack. Plan: Rectangular on plan, probably originally a single cell workshop; C20 lean-to at right (east) end with corrugated asbestos roof. Exterior: Single-storey and attic. 1 window front, front door into lean-to at right. 1 first floor C20 3-light timber casement with glazing bars, modern C20 ground floor window. Interior: not inspected. Part of a group of small thatched cottages on the roadside.

Listing NGR: SX8579484548