Christmas Cottage

Christmas Cottage is a house, originally two cottages, now in single ownership. The northern half probably dates from the 17th century or earlier, while the southern part was likely constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The windows were largely replaced in the 20th century and there have been some 20th-century alterations. The northern part is timber-framed with painted stone rubble infilling, while the southern part is a mix of stone rubble and brick with a tiled roof. The north side has a hip, and the south side a gable, with an off-centre brick chimney stack.

The house has two storeys and an irregular window arrangement, mainly with 20th-century wooden casements. The original layout was probably either a three-bay lobby entrance house or a two-bay end-chimney stack house.

On the front elevation, the two northern bays show an exposed timber frame with thick timbers, a midrail and one slightly curved and one diagonal tension brace visible, along with painted stone infilling. There are sections of stone rubble and painted brick. A porch was added in the 1990s, and a further door is set within a recently rebuilt stone rubble and weatherboarded lean-to. These entrances were likely added around 1858 when the property was bought by Lord Leconfield and converted into two cottages; the original doorcase would likely have been opposite the chimney stack. The southeast elevation features 19th-century brickwork in English bond to the ground floor and tile hanging above. The rear elevation has a catslide roof with 19th-century brickwork below, and a large hipped gable with a 1950s casement window in the centre. To the left of the gable is a mid-20th-century French window, and to the right, a later 20th-century conservatory. The northeast elevation retains a small 19th-century leaded light casement window.

The interior was not inspected, but the owner reports that there was a fireplace, and two staircases were removed in the 1950s and replaced with a mid-20th-century staircase.