Duckpool

Duckpool is a cottage that likely has origins in the 16th century but was remodeled in the late 17th century or early 18th century. It underwent modernisation and extension in the late 20th century. The building features rendered cob and rubble walls and a thatched roof, which is hipped at the left end and half-hipped at the right. There is an axial brick stack. The original layout is not entirely clear, as only one room remains, but it may have once been larger. If the smoke-blackened roof timbers mentioned by the current owner are indeed present, it suggests that the house originally had an open hall with a central hearth, making it a rare example of a one-room plan. Surviving internal features indicate a late 17th or early 18th-century date, and it is possible that a modest house like this would not have had its open hall ceiled or a stack inserted until that time.

The exterior of the cottage is two storeys tall, with a one-storey addition on the left. The front is asymmetrical with two windows, featuring late 20th-century two and three-light casements. A late 20th-century plank door is located towards the right-hand end. There is also a single-storey former 19th-century outbuilding attached to the right end, which has a slate roof and a plank door. Inside, the fireplace has a rough wooden lintel. Two late 17th or early 18th-century roof trusses are visible, consisting of straight principles with lapped and pegged collars. Additionally, two more substantial plastered-over curving trusses survive at each end, which the owner claims are smoke-blackened, although access to these is not possible. The trusses feature high morticed collars, but the ridge does not survive.