Oak Beam Cottage

Oak Beam Cottage and No. 2 Ducks Alley are a pair of cottages dating from the late 17th to early 18th century. They are constructed of plastered cob on stone rubble footings, with a stone rubble stack topped with 19th-century brick, and a thatched roof that has been replaced with slate over No. 2. The cottages face north and are mirrors of each other, separated by a central crosswall. Each cottage has doorways at either end of the front that lead directly into the main rooms, which are heated by back-to-back fireplaces in the central axial stack. There are small service outshots to the rear under the main roof. Oak Beam Cottage is on the right, while No. 2 Ducks Alley is on the left.

The cottages are two storeys high and have an irregular four-window front featuring various 19th and 20th-century casements with glazing bars. Oak Beam Cottage has an unusual late 19th-century part-glazed panelled door behind a contemporary gabled porch, while No. 2 Ducks Alley has a 20th-century part-glazed door. The roof of Oak Beam Cottage is hipped to the right and adjoins the roof of the property to the left.

Inside Oak Beam Cottage, the main room features a crossbeam that is soffit-chamfered with run-out stops, and the fireplace has a soffit-chamfered oak lintel. The roof is inaccessible, but the scantling of the principals suggests that original A-frame trusses may still be present. In No. 2 Ducks Alley, the fireplace is blocked, and all structural details are concealed by 19th and 20th-century plaster, but it is believed to have similar features to those found in Oak Beam Cottage.