Spekes Valley Cottage

Spekes Valley Cottage is a cottage, possibly dating back to the 16th century, with significant remodelling in the early to mid 17th century, and later additions in the 19th and 20th centuries. The walls are constructed of plastered rubble and cob, with the rear predominantly cob. The roof is thatched, gabled at the left end and hipped at the right, with a brick axial stack.

The cottage originally had a three-room plan, though the outer rooms represent later additions. The central room was once heated by a fireplace on its right side, but roof evidence suggests it was initially an open hall with a central hearth. This indicates a possible late survival of an open hall feature in a modest house, potentially built in an archaic style. It is possible the house was floored over within a generation of its construction, and the room added to the right, likely dating to the 18th century, was probably originally a stable or animal house, now containing a staircase to the rear. A small outshot is located behind this room, its purpose currently unclear. A single-story addition at the left-hand end, originally a 19th-century dairy or similar service room, was raised to two stories in the 20th century.

The front of the cottage has an asymmetrical facade with a four-window arrangement of early to mid 17th and 20th-century, two-light casement windows set within small openings. The thatched roof extends over a 20th-century open-fronted porch with a plank door. A similar door with glazed panel is located to the left of centre. The rear elevation features an outshot to the left of centre.

Inside the main room, a wany chamfered cross-beam remains. The roof over the central room has a pair of wany straight principal rafters with a small triangular block at the apex joining the tops of the trusses, which are not morticed to each other. The collar is lapped and pegged to the principals. The roof is lightly and evenly smoke-blackened throughout, including battens and beneath the thatch. Later roofs are present at either end. The cottage is an unusual survival of an early one-room plan house.