Dragley Beck Cottage

Dragley Beck Cottage, also known as Sir John Barrow’s Cottage, is a house, now a shop with living space above, dating back to the 17th century, with later alterations. The exterior is roughcast with a slate roof, replacing an original thatched roof. It is a single-story building with a loft, and includes an outshut at the rear. On either side of the front doorway are windows with simple surrounds and slate sills, each containing a three-light timber casement. The window to the left is slightly higher than the other. The doorway itself has plain surrounds. The right-hand (east) gable features a brick chimney cap with diagonal shafts. The left-hand gable wall is blank. Two single-story outhouses with monopitch roofs are attached to the right-hand gable wall, meeting at a central valley. A blocked attic window with two lights and chamfered timber mullions is visible above. The rear wall has low eaves and three windows with simple surrounds.

Inside, to the left of the doorway is a solid masonry wall. The left-hand room has sawn timber ceiling joists and a hatch leading to the attic. The right-hand room contains two roughly chamfered main beams, one of which was likely originally a firehood bressumer. The fireplace has a timber cornice mantel. Above the mantel is a marble tablet inscribed with a text commemorating Sir John Barrow, born in the cottage in 1764. The inscription details his travels to China and Africa, his long career as Secretary of the Admiralty, and his death in 1848.