The Cottage and Holly Cottage

Details

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TQ 54 SW
3/466

SPELDHURST
BULLINGSTONE LANE
The Cottage and Holly Cottage

II

Two cottages in a former farmhouse. Late medieval, probably late C15, with C16 and C17 improvements, some C19 modernisation, The Cottage was modernised and enlarged circa 1980. Exposed timber framing on coursed sandstone footings; brick stacks, the older one on sandstone base, brick chimneyshaft; peg-tile roof.

Plan and Development: Basically a T-plan building facing north east. Holly Cottage to the right and The Cottage to left. The right (north west) end room has a gable-end stack. This along with part of the back of the crosswing makes up Holly Cottage. The rest of the crosswing belongs to The Cottage. It had a two-room plan, the front room with an outer lateral stack and the rear one with an axial stack and now divided between the two properties. The Cottage has a circa 1980 extension on the left end of the main block.

In fact the house was built as a late medieval open hall house. The main block (Holly Cottage) is the late medieval hall. It was originally open to the roof and heated by an open hearth fire. The narrow bay at the right end suggests that there may have been a through passage there originally. The service end further right has been demolished. In the late C16 a stack was inserted, either into the passage or backing onto it and the wall hall was floored over. At the same time or maybe in the early C17 the othr end was rebuilt as a parlour crosswing projecting forward. The rear room was added in the C19. Two storeys with C20 lean-to outshots to rear.

Exterior: Irregular 2:2:2-window front, all C20 casements with diamond panes of leaded glass, similar window round the other sides, some C19 in rear of crosswing. Doorway to The Cottage in the front end of the crosswing and doorway to Holly Cottage towards the left end of the main block; both contain plank doors with coverstrips. Original framing to the main block, similar C17 framing to the crosswing and three-bay extension to The Cottage finished in similar style. Roofs are gable-ended, taller to the old main block. Rear gable end of C19 crosswing has ornamental patterned framing and the plastered infill panels have a variety of scored patterns, a form of simple sgraffito-work. First floor window is a wide oriel with solid moulded timber sill.

Interior: Only Holly Cottage was available for inspection at the time of this survey. Ground floor level of the former hall shows only late C16 features, a large brick fireplace with a chamfered oak lintel, an axial beam (chamfered with canted step stops) and large scantling chamfered and step-stopped joists. The roof is late medieval. Closed truss to the crosswing and open truss near the stack. Tie beam with large chamfered arch braces and plain, square-section crown post tapering a little from top to bottom. It has down braces to the tie and up-braces to the crown purlin. A-frame common rafter trusses of relatively large scantling and with lap-jointed collars. Parlour crosswing was not available for inspection although the roof is of tie-beam trusses with clasped side purlins and queen struts.

These two cottages occupy an interesting late medieval house which probably was related in some way to nearby Old Bullingstone(q.v.).

Listing NGR: TQ5442341137

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

438764

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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