Ashplants, Fingle Cottage Rookwood Cottage

SX 78 SW DREWSTEIGNTON DREWSTEIGNTON

5/93 Rookwood Cottage and Ashplants, Fingle Cottage 22.2.67

GV II

2 cottages. C17, probably C16 core, both modernised in C20. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble stacks topped with C20 brick; thatch roof. Plan and development: pair of 2-room cottages facing south and built across the hillslope. Rookwood Cottage is the left cottage and Ashplants, Fingle Cottage, is the right cottage. In fact the cottages result from the subdivision of a 4-room- and-through-passage house. Rookwood Cottage occupies the former hall and unheated inner room. Doorway has been inserted into the inner room and the larger hall (to right) has a large axial stack backing onto the former passage. Ashplants, Fingle Cottage occupies the site of the former passage and 2 service end rooms. Now the lower passage partition has been removed and the first service end room thus enlarged. It has a C19 axial stack inserted against the back of the C17 hall stack. The right end second service end room has a large projecting gable-end stack, probably built in the C17 for a kitchen. C20 outshots to rear. Main block is 2 storeys. Exterior: overall irregular 5-window front of late C19 and C20 casements with glazing bars, 2 to Rookwood Cottage and 3 to Ashplants, Fingle Cottage. The passage front doorway is roughly central and is now blocked by a C20 casement. Nevertheless there is still a porch here; it is built of granite ashlar, gabled with a 2-centred granite outer arch. This may be as early as the C16. The present doorways to the cottages contain C20 doors, that to Ashplants, Fingle Cottage, behind a C20 gabled porch. Roof is gable-ended to right and to left runs continuously with the roof of Edgecombe (q.v) adjoining that end. Interior: only Rookwood Cottage was available for interior inspection at the time of this survey. The hall has a large granite ashlar fireplace with side oven and soffit-chamfered oak lintel. The crossbeam here is soffit-chamfered with scroll stops; the same finish as the lintel over the blocked doorway to the former passage. Roof is inaccessible and the truss is boxed into the first floor partition. A curious round-headed alcove in the rear wall of the hall chamber of unknown function. It is thought by the owner to be a cradle cupboard. Although no interior inspection of Ashplants, Fingle Cottage, was available at the time of this survey C17, maybe C16, features are suspected. These cottages form part of an attractive group of listed buildings to east of the Churchyard.

Listing NGR: SX7371990857