Bush Cottage And Bargains Cottage

Bush Cottage and Bargains Cottage form a range of cottages with elements dating from the 18th century, possibly earlier, and incorporating alterations and extensions from the 19th and 20th centuries. The buildings are primarily constructed of cob and rendered, with Bush Cottage retaining a thatched roof and Bargains Cottage a slate roof.

The arrangement is L-shaped, set back from the road. Bush Cottage has a projecting gable facing south, while Bargains Cottage is a simple rectangular structure aligned east-west.

Bush Cottage is a two-storey thatched building accessible via a porch on the east elevation. The projecting north gable has an asymmetrical façade with a metal-framed casement on the ground floor and two timber three-light casements on the first floor. Other elevations have metal-framed casements. A metal-framed casement connects Bush Cottage and Bargains Cottage on the north elevation, beneath the thatched roof. Bargains Cottage's north elevation features a centrally located stack and a doorway flanked by three small casements on the ground floor. The north elevation does not have first-floor openings.

Inside Bargains Cottage, a large central brick and cob stack with a bread oven is located in the north-west corner. Timber stairs are positioned in the central bay, providing access to two first-floor rooms separated by the stack. The original roof structure, intended for thatch and now surviving beneath the slate roof, has a hip to the west. Bush Cottage’s interior was not inspected.

Bush Cottage is likely the remnant of a former cross-wing house, which has been truncated and subsequently extended. A later extension, Bargains Barn, is not of particular interest.

The cottages are designated at Grade II for their preservation of elements of a cross-wing house dating no later than the 18th century and for the increasingly rare survival of cob and thatch construction.