Doone Cottage

Doone Cottage is a house dating from the late 17th century, located on the east side of Briton Street Lane in Dunsford. The building is constructed of whitewashed rendered cob on stone rubble footings, topped with a thatched roof that has gables at both ends. It features an axial stack and a stack at the right gable end. The house has a small three-room layout with a through passage; the lower end is to the right, with the hall stack backing onto the passage, a heated lower end room, and an unheated inner room. Originally, it was divided into two cottages but has since been converted back into a single property.

The cottage is two storeys high and has an irregular three-window front. The thatch eaves are eyebrowed over the two first-floor half-dormers. The front door, located to the centre right, leads into the passage, while a second half-glazed door opens into the lower end room on the right. The windows are two- and three-light casements with small panes, except for the ground floor right window, where the small panes have been replaced.

Inside, there is a large hall fireplace that has been partly blocked by a 20th-century range, and the lower end fireplace is blocked by a 20th-century grate. The lower end room features a chamfered cross beam with stops, and there is a chamfered cross beam in the passage, with exposed joists in the inner room on the left. A newel stair in the lower end room has been replaced by a later stair, and there is a second winder stair in the inner room. A 17th-century chamfered doorway connects the hall and inner room, along with two early doors. Access to the apex of the roof was not available at the time of the survey in 1985, but the trusses over the lower end appear to be from the 17th century, while the roof over the higher end may have been replaced. Doone Cottage is an attractive small 17th-century house that contributes to the group value of other listed properties in Briton Street Lane.