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Summary

Two cottages, occupying part of an original larger open-hall house. Late 15th- early 16th century with major later 16th century and 17th century improvements, subdivided in late 18th century or 19th century.

Location

Protected Status

• Listed Building (II) 1141410: CHURCH GREEN COTTAGES

Other References/Statuses

• Old Listed Building Ref (II): 352392

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• COTTAGE NON SPECIFIC (XV to XIX - 1450 AD to 1900 AD (Between))

Full description

Pearce, M., 1997, 1 Church Green - Newton Poppleford (Correspondence). SDV346862.

Visited 1997. Plaster had been removed along the line of the roof in order to investigate the condition of the roof structure. Owner states that it had not been moulded. Several joists at the front elevation have ends rotted away and are not bearing on the purlin.

English Heritage, 2011, Historic Houses Register (List of Blds of Arch or Historic Interest). SDV346128.

1 and 2 Church Green Cottages.
Two cottages, occupying part of an original larger house. Late 15th- early 16th century with major later 16th century and 17th century improvements, subdivided in late 18th century or 19th century. Plastered cob on stone rubble footings; stone rubble and brick stacks topped with 19th century and 20th century brick; thatch roof, slate to service extension of No.1.
Two cottages facing north. No.1 occupied the 2-room inner room end to the left (east) and No.2 occupies the hall and through-passage of the original 3-, later 4-room-and-through-passage plan house. The service end adjoining to right (west) has been demolished and completely rebuilt. The hall (No.2) has a large projecting front lateral stack. Of the 2 rooms of No.1 the inner has a brick rear lateral stack (probably a 19th century rebuild of the original) and the outer room a late 18th- early 19th century end stack. The inner room also contains a rear projecting newel turret. There is a 19th century single storey service outshot projecting at right angles to rear of the outer room
serving No.1. In No.2 the kitchen has been contrived into the rear section of the hall. Main block is now 2 storeys throughout.
Overall irregular 4-window front of various 19th and 20th century casements with glazing bars. The doorway to No.1 is towards the left end and has a 17th century oak frame with chamfered surround and worn (probably scroll) stops. It contains 20th century door and semi-conical thatch hood. The front passage door to No.2 at the right end is 20th century. The large hall stack is plastered but may be ashlar stone since it has weathered offsets. The shaft has been replaced with brick. The roof is hipped to left and joins the roof of the adjoining house to right. The rear wall includes the remains of a tiny unglazed 17th century oak 2-light window frame with ovolo-moulded mullions under the eaves in the main inner room chamber (No.1).
Good interior of a house with a long structural history. The oldest feature exposed is the roof truss at the upper end of the hall, now closed and forming the party wall between the 2 cottages. It is probably a jointed cruck but the lower parts are plastered over. Only the apex is exposed in the roofspace but this is enough to show that it is late 15th- early 16th century. The principals are held together here by a yoke and the ends finished to clasp a square-set ridge purlin (Alcock's apex type H). It is smoke-blackened on both sides indicating that the late 15th- early 16th century house was open from end to end, divided by low partition screens and heated by an open hearth fire. One of these low partition screens probably survives at the upper end of the hall but is mostly hidden. Only at the rear end on the hall side is a shoulded-headed doorway exposed but an oak plank-and-muntin screen may be assumed. Between the passage and the hall (in No.2) the head beam of another oak plank-and-muntin screen shows and more of the screen may survive plastered over towards the rear.
The inner room (No.1) was floored over first and the chamber was jettied over the screen into the hall. On the hall side the large oak floor joists project with rounded ends to carry the bressumer of the large-framed crosswall which infilled the original truss. This probably took place in the mid 16th century. The crossbeam exposed in No. 1 is of large scantling and soffit-chamfered with runout stops.
The fireplaces were probably added in the late 16th century. That in No. 1 is blocked (and probably rebuilt) but the hall fireplace in No. 2 is exposed. It is large with Beerstone ashlar sides, one containing a tiny fire-window light, and oak soffit-chamfered lintel. The hall was floored over about the same time or a little later. It has an intersecting beam ceiling with broad soffit-chamfers. The joists in each panel run in opposite directions to those in the neighbouring panels. 6 of the 9 panels are exposed. The rest of the roof structure over the hall and passage was replaced in the 18th century and 19th century.
It seems that the inner room end (No. 1) was extended from 1 to 2 rooms in the early 17th century. There is an oak crank-headed doorframe of that date in the rear wall from the outer room to the later service extension. The roof truss over the inner room is also of this date, a side-pegged jointed cruck with pegged and dovetail-shaped lap-jointed collar. The inner first floor chamber has a relatively simple early 17th century ceiling of ornamental plasterwork. There is a hand-run reeded cornice and similarly-moulded ribs making diagonal crosses and the spaces filled with moulded plaster thistle motifs.
The proximity of these cottages to the church and the relatively high standard of craftsmanship suggests that this was a church house. However the moulded plaster diagonal crosses and thistle motifs surely suggest St Andrew rather than St Luke.

Ordnance Survey, 2011, MasterMap (Cartographic). SDV346129.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments: none recorded

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events: none recorded

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