Michaelmas Cottage

Michaelmas Cottage is a small two-storey cottage built in 1820 as the schoolmaster's house by the Vicar, Rev. J Hughes. It was constructed on old foundations, with the adjoining building at the rear altered to serve as a new school, replacing an earlier school from 1804. The school was said to be situated on ecclesiastical ruins, and the lowest 2 meters of the cottage front, made of limestone, likely retains masonry from these ruins. The school operated until the new National School in the village opened in 1873. The property belonged to the Church in Wales until around 1965, when it was purchased by Penally parish and given its current name.

The cottage features a range of two windows and a central door, facing north. It is built from random rubble masonry of local stone, with selected higher quality stones used in the front elevation. Quoins and window dressings are made from larger blocks of limestone, providing a contrasting color. The slate roof has a tile ridge and capped brick end-chimneys. The windows are notable for their tall, inward-opening casements with margin lights, painted sills, and lintels. The double front doors are each a single panel, topped by a plain semi-elliptical fanlight under a painted arch, with three steps leading up to the doors.

The basement consists of two rooms: one is a cellar used with the cottage, and the other is accessed by a trapdoor from the churchyard. Michaelmas Cottage is listed as an early 19th-century schoolmaster's cottage that retains its original character and is located on a site of archaeological significance within the ancient churchyard. It also holds group value with the Church.