Bowling Green Cottage and railings

Bowling Green Cottage and railings

House, formerly two cottages, comprising painted brick with internal timber-frame and a painted rubble stone south-east wing. Slate roofs and brick chimneys. Two storeys, L-plan layout.

The long range facing Church Bank has a thin tall red brick west end stack and a rebuilt ridge stack towards the east. Four bays, with the right two bays broader than the others and an off-centre door. This section is brick-clad timber-frame with one exposed angle post to the left and one other small piece of timber visible in the wall. The first floor has an iron small-paned casement pair to the right under the eaves above a small-paned iron cross-window, both with cambered heads. There is a renewed ledged door with a cambered head, then a modern small casement pair set in disturbed brickwork of a former door, with an iron casement pair above under the eaves. The two north-east bays beyond the wall-post are of painted brick with a brick ridge stack between them. The right bay has an iron cross-window over a modern triple casement. The left bay has a 19th-century added shop in painted brick, gabled to the north, with casement pair windows to each side; the cambered-headed north one is original and the north-east corner is chamfered. Low iron railings with dog-bars enclose the north front courtyard with two gates, one opposite the house door.

The east gable to Lions Bank is painted brick with a cambered-headed small-paned iron long casement pair above and a shorter similar window to the ground floor left.

A straight joint marks the transition to the rubble-stone lower south-east wing, now the main entry. This section has two bays with casement pairs on the first floor. The ground floor has an extreme right ledged door in a late Georgian timber doorcase with a pedimental hood on scrolled console brackets and a single-light window immediately to the left. A cambered-headed triple casement with an iron opening light stands to the left, and a cambered-headed ledged door is situated further left. The stone south end wall has a long window to the upper floor and a shorter fixed square window with brick sides below.

The rear of the main range has exposed timber framing in square panels with angled struts on the first floor. An iron casement pair is to the left and a timber one to the right. A brick buttress was added below, and a modern conservatory stands to the rear. A brick lean-to occupies the angle to the south-east range, which has a stone west wall with a brick chimney.

Stone setts lie in front of the railings to Church Bank.

Internally, the main north-west range shows extensive timber-framing, especially on the former east end wall. The building was originally two cottages with no access between upper floor rooms. A heavy north-south beam spans the west room, with a fireplace on the west wall and a modern staircase in the corner to the rear. The first floor is divided by a solid wall with a tie beam and angle struts above. The west end room has a tie-beam of a truss in the end wall with holes for a partition below, and massive purlins. The two north-east rooms share a big chimney with back-to-back fireplaces between them, and a squared east-west beam spans the east room, which once had a staircase between it and the shop. The room above has a plastered three-sided ceiling. Thick stone walls stand to each side of the entrance passage to the south, which has two squared north-south beams and joists, modern stairs at the end, a plank door on the north, and a plank door on the south leading into the south end room. This room has a lower floor level, one squared beam, squared joists, and a west wall fireplace. The room above has two purlins.