Summary

This house is of two bays, originally thatched, single storey and attic, extended by a further single bay towards Market Square (now No. 10).  The date stone on the front is not inconsistent with the architectural detail.  The ground floor at the rear is interlocked with No. 10-12, and Green Manor, and it may have been an adjunct to the latter property.

The two ground floor rooms consisted of a living-kitchen and an unheated parlour.  This plan is repeated on the upper floor.

Description

This is a cottage built of stone, with a machine tiled roof replacing thatch, dated by date stone on the front to 1710, with initials T / C M.  The house consists of two bays, with the primary early kitchen bay at the SW end containing a large fireplace with oak lintel beam, simply chamfered with run out stops.  The emplacement on the front of the beam is probably for a fire crane.

The entrance door opens directly into the original kitchen, which opens into the adjacent parlour in the unheated NW bay.  It has a heavy chamfered spine beam without chamfer stops.  A later stack has been inserted into the former parlour. 

A cupboard in the rear wall of the parlour may have once been a window.

The building is approximately 3.6m internally, front to back.

The cottage probably had a rear extension in the position of the present rear room, as there is no indication of a stair position in the exposed ceiling joists.

A modern 6-panelled front door and windows are set in brick quoined openings.

The first floor repeats the ground floor plan, with a high ceiling, reaching collar level.  There are no notable early features.

A lateral room has been added to the rear extension, dated EM/RM 1991

The cottage is attached at the NW end to a single bay setting back at an angle, and originally thatched at a slightly lower level.  This is now part of No 10, but a blocked intervening door indicates it may have originally been used as an adjunct to Magpie's Nook.

History

It is possible the initials T / C M on the date stone refers to Charles Tomkins (1665-1720), whose second wife was Mary Hyllier, whom he married in 1709.