Description

SY 18 NE BRANSCOMBE BERRY HILL, Street

7/17 No 1 (The Rookeries) No 2 (Lower
- Deems) and No 3 Lower Dean
22.2.55
GV II


3 cottages, formerly one house. Early - mid C16 with later C16 and C17 alterations,
much altered in mid - late C19, presumably when subdivided to cottages. Plastered
stone rubble, some exposed to rear, maybe some cob; stone rubble stacks topped with
C20 brick; thatch roof.
Plan and development: 3 adjoining small cottages in an L-plan building. The main
block is built down the hillslope and faces north. No 1 is uphill at the right
(west) end. It has a 2-room plan. The right end room is the largest and it is
heated by a projecting gable-end stack. No 2 is downhill at the left (east) end.
It is a 1-room plan cottage with a gable-end stack but also includes a small lobby
between this room and No 1. No 3 occupies a rear block projecting at right angles
behind No 2. It is a 1-room plan cottage with a gable-end stack.
It is very difficult to work out the historic development of this building since
much of the structural evidence is inaccessible or hidden or has been removed.
Nevertheless the smoke-blackened roof of the main block indicates that the original
house dates from the early - mid C16 and was some kind of open hall house which was
heated by an open hearth fire. The sequence from the mid C16 - mid C17 by which the
chimneystacks were inserted and the rooms progressively floored over is not clear.
The heated room in No 1 is apparently an early - mid C17 parlour. No 3 was
inaccessible at the time of survey but is said to have a large kitchen stack,
probably also early - mid C17 What is missing is any evidence for a hall and
passage. The stack in No 2 is C19. All 3 cottages are 2 storeys.
Exterior: overall irregular 3-window front of C20 replacement casements with
glazing bars, the first floor ones rising into the thatch. The front doorways of
Nos 1 and 2 both contain C20 stable-type doors, that to No 1 is flanked by sloping
buttresses. The doorway to No 3 is on the outer (east) side. It and the windows
are also C20. Both roofs are gable-ended and the ridge of the main block is uneven.
Interior: is largely the result of C19 and C20 modernisations which have apparently
combined to hide much of the early structural fabric. Also only Nos 1 and 2 were
available for inspection at the time of this survey. The parlour fireplace (No 1)
is Beerstone rubble with an ovolo-moulded oak lintel. No ceiling beams show in the
main block (Nos 1 and 2). The 3-bay main block roof is carried on 2 side-pegged
jointed cruck trusses. Both are sooted from the original open hearth fire. The
western one (between the 2 bedchambers of No 1) is filled with a late C16 - early
C17 oak frame nogged with wattle-and-daub. There is some evidence that the
partition between the main block and rear block is also oak-framed. The rear block
(No 3) is said to contain a large kitchen fireplace.
These cottages form part of an exceptionally attractive group of traditional thatch-
roofed buildings which make up the hamlet of Street.

Listing NGR: SY1880288827

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26398115

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Somerset: North and Bristol: The Buildings of England (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Historic Environment Law: Planning, Listed Buildings, Monuments, Conservation Areas and Objects by Harwood, Richard (2012) Paperback
• 
  Sussex: East with Brighton and Hove (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Dorset (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Essex: Buildings of England Series (Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)