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Summary

Early 16th century cottage with 17th century improvements; 20th century kitchen extension. Thatch roof. Two room plan cottage facing east. Fascinating house; has a late medieval roof with the most sophisticated example of carpentry from that time in the parish, yet is quite a small house.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II*) 1308806: WESTCOTT COTTAGE

Other References/Statuses

• National Monuments Record: SX78NW52
• National Record of the Historic Environment: 898264
• Old DCC SMR Ref: SX78NW/204
• Old Listed Building Ref (II*): 94610

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• COTTAGE NON SPECIFIC (Built, XV to Late 20th Century - 1500 AD (Between) to 1987 AD (Between))

Full description

South West Heritage Trust, 1838-1848, Digitised Tithe Maps and Transcribed Apportionments (Cartographic). SDV359954.

Cottage is shown on the Tithe Map. Small rectangular building, aligned north-south.

Department of Environment, 1987, Chagford, 67 (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV350463.

Westcott cottage, early 16th century with 17th century improvements; 20th century kitchen extension. Coursed blocks of granite ashlar with massive quoins and some granite stone rubble patching; granite stacks. Thatch roof.
Two room plan cottage facing east. Stacks. Not quite symmetrical three window front of 20th century casements. Roof is gable ended. The oldest feature is the early 16th century three bay roof. Ashlar masonry indicates that the original house was the same size as the present one. Probably in the early 17th century the house was floored and the end stack added.

Ordnance Survey, 2018, MasterMap 2018 (Cartographic). SDV360652.

Westcott Cottage is shown on the modern mapping, east of Westcott Farm.

Historic England, 2018, National Heritage List for England (National Heritage List for England). SDV360653.

SX 78 NW CHAGFORD - 4/81 Westcott Cottage - GV II*
House. Early C16 with C17 improvements; C20 kitchen extension. Coursed blocks of granite ashlar with massive quoins and some granite stone rubble patching; granite stacks, the original 1 with a granite ashlar chimney shaft; thatch roof, slate to kitchen extension.
Plan and development: 2-room plan cottage facing east. The larger right (northern) room has an end stack and the smaller left room has a rear lateral stack. Kitchen extension projecting to rear of left room. The original hall house was open to the roof from end to end, divided by low partitions and heated by an open hearth fire. House was floored probably in the early C17 when the end stack was inserted. Rear lateral stack could be as late as C19. 2 storeys. Exterior: not quite symmetrical 3-window front of C20 casements with glazing bars and central doorway contains C20 French window. Roof is gable-ended. Right end wall is blind and has late C19-early C20 store with leanto corrugated iron roof against it. Left end wall includes a first floor C17 2-light granite window with chamfered mullion, plain hoodmould and contains rectangular panes of leaded glass.
Interior. The oldest feature is the early C16 3-bay roof. Both are A-frame trusses but the right (northern) one has chamfered arch-braces. The butt purlins are chamfered with runout stops. The whole roof including the underside of the thatch is smoke-blackened from an open hearth fire. Probably in the early C17 the house was floored and the end stack added. The crossbeams are soffit-chamfered, the right one with straight cut stops at the front end only. There is no indication of where contemporary partitions were. The ground floor fireplace is now blocked by a C20 grate (if indeed there was one here earlier). Above, at first floor level, 2 granite ashlar corbels project from the wall; hollow-chamfered on their inner soffit edges. These are probably the remains of a hooded fireplace.
This is a fascinating house. The late medieval roof is the most sophisticated example of carpentry from that time in the parish and yet it is quite a small house. If the corbels indicate a hooded fireplace it may have been converted to some kind of first floor hall. Another explanation may be that it was a wing of nearby Westcott Farmhouse (q.v.), but there is no evidence to prove this. There is an irregular joint on the back wall and much of it is patched with granite stone rubble but the ashlar masonry seems to indicate that the original house was the same size as the present one.
Listing NGR: SX7101187637

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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