Ye olde cottage.

[Doug]

The field behind this 16th century cottage is where I found the 6 Elizabeth 1st coins.

The cottage was subject to a fire at one time in its lifetime also the cottage was extended twice (sideways) which is the main living quarters of David and his family.

The old part of the cottage is not really used now hence its run down look!

I'm not quite sure what the story is behind the small window in the gable end of what was an addition to the thatched cottage at sometime in the past, stable perhaps?

Thanks for looking.....Doug.

[Emily]

The field behind this 16th century cottage is where I found the 6 Elizabeth 1st coins.

The cottage was subject to a fire at one time in its lifetime also the cottage was extended twice (sideways) which is the main living quarters of David and his family.

The old part of the cottage is not really used now hence its run down look!

I'm not quite sure what the story is behind the small window in the gable end of what was an addition to the thatched cottage at sometime in the past, stable perhaps?

Thanks for looking.....Doug.

That is a beautiful cottage!! I can’t believe the owners are letting it get into that state. I’d love to live in that tiny section.

[Bors]

quote Doug, " The old part of the cottage is not really used now hence its run down look".

Now that is very sad to see happen . Why buy an old thatched cottage just to add on to it without including having the roof thatched on the extension to blend in with the original cottage, and then to add insult to injury after extending it, not use the older original part . Its very sad to see happen.
Give me a "Period" style cottage with the ceilings beams any day over the Modern minimalistic look which is popular these days.
The little slim Elizabethan stone slit window is a fantastic feature too. The arched door also looks like it`s the original one. But the window on the left looks a modern inclusion which spoils the "look" of things. Original is best on ancient cottages.I`m very surprised they`ve been allowed to not put back as "original" because I would assume that is from around Elizabethan times and is a Listed building ,probably grade 2

[Doug]

Thank you for your comments.

Slightly off topic.

This photograph of the middle field and the top field with the trees at the top which are the other side of the lane from the thatched cottage both produced 2 significant finds for me quite a few years ago.

Middle field produced the oldest coin I have ever found, ID by Allectus to be a BA (Bronze Age) one.

Top field by the trees gave up a silver hawking vervel (ring) which could be attributed to a local Lord of the Manor.

[figgis]

Why buy an old thatched cottage just to add on to it without including having the roof thatched on the extension to blend in with the original cottage

They never do, Pete. I've worked on countless houses like this and any extension gets a tiled roof, without exception (so far, at least). Thatch look lovely but it needs maintaining at regular intervals throughout its life. Long straw = new ridge every 10-15 years and rethatch every 30-40 years, reed = new ridge every 20 years, rethatch every 60-70 years. It's a pain, so people tile.

As regards windows, many are indeed well out of character but were put in yonks ago on the cheap and without reference to any planning permission which may or may not have applied at the time. Interestingly, anything like these monstrosities which form part of a listed building become subject to that listing so you have to apply for permission to change them into something nore suitable

[Oxgirl]

Ahhh the confounded meddling with old houses. Bet the render isn’t doing it any good either

That side window is lovely. Or it would be if some glazing could be fashioned for it. Looks like it (and the house) could be easily renovated and maybe they will one day.

Our house was also thatched until the 1920s when they raised the roof line and tiled it. The original crook tresses are still in our neighbours attic. Sadly the pleasures of thatched houses aren’t for everyone and I know my grandparents in Ireland were desperate to tile their roof and sort out the damp too. Living in chocolate boxes can be challenging. I still love old houses and would be very sad to live in a modern house now.

Great detecting round there though. A hawking ring would be a dream find for me, very jealous

[Blackadder43]

I love places like that Doug, quaint little cottage that i expect anyone nearing 6 foot would have to duck to enter, and great views across the fields
When stood there with your detector you can feel the stresses of the year draining away for a while...

Do you have a photo of the Hawking ring Doug?
Its something in a long list of wishlist items for me

[Doug]

I love places like that Doug, quaint little cottage that i expect anyone nearing 6 foot would have to duck to enter, and great views across the fields
When stood there with your detector you can feel the stresses of the year draining away for a while...

Do you have a photo of the Hawking ring Doug?
Its something in a long list of wishlist items for me

Yes I have Bruce, will post tomorrow with the PAS ref number.

[figgis]

Bet the render isn’t doing it any good either

You'd be right. These buildings need to breathe , which lime render will allow but sand & cement prevents, leading to rot

Looking forward to seeing this vervel of yours, Doug. I'd give my left grandmother to find one and they're an item you can definitively attribute to hawking, unlike the vast majority of "hawking" whistles which are almost certainly dog whistles.

[Littleboot]

Lovely little cottage...So pretty. Very enjoyable thread indeed.
We live in a cottage that we can trace back to the 16th century. (Parts of it...like a samson post in the kitchen....are undoubtedly older.) It has clearly evolved over time and had additions to it. We are surrounded with other cottages and farmhouses and barns of similar vintages and ranging from very over-restored right through to total dilapidation. There are very few rules in France regarding what you do to houses of this vintage and it is very like the situation in the UK before the Listing System came into play.
It isn't easy to strike a balance because the house has to be a functioning home and not a museum. Our cottage, like most, had small windows and was very dark. People who spent all day outside had no need of a view once they were inside. They simply wanted to be warm and that made windows a luxury (especially glazed ones). The family ate and slept in one room...at most two rooms....and in the case of ours, the loft was for chickens and straw/hay storage and half the ground floor was for animals and storing barrels etc,. (We have the deep scores on the old brick floor where the barrels were pulled about.)
Ceilings were low and so were door-frames....because most people were not that tall it wasn't an issue. When we looked for this cottage there were several we had to discount because of ceilings being too low. (Our son is 6foot 4 for a start.) Ours has quite high ceilings (the door is another matter and Pete always has marks on his head from when he forgets, lol) and we suspect this is why this cottage is still occupied and so many others have disappeared or become barns.,
One of the limiting factors for timber-framed cottages was the price of oak beams. The price increases exponentially as they become longer. Here in Normandy the longest for a small farm or cottage was 4 metres. Many of them were much narrower than that. 3 metre wood was less than half the cost, A manoir had to be 8 metres wide (with a similar upscale in thickness of course) and the timber was therefore very expensive.....all part of the status. A Chateau was 10 metres wide. So you had to be very rich.
Our cottage was thatched to start with....only the wealthy could afford hand-made tiles....then when the railway arrived in the 19th century many houses were then covered in slate which became more accessible. Ours is slate and the roof line was altered when they went on. The ridge remained the same but the roof was made less steep which meant there was more usable space upstairs.

Cottages look lovely but of course were not designed with any modern convenience in mind. There is always a trade off. I remember how much our lounge used to get smoky before we took a dividing wall out and installed a wood-burner. The problem with small rooms is they do not have enough air in them to enable a large fire opening to 'draw' properly. The large hearths were there to cook on (we still have the original fire-crane and cauldron)...but boy they must have ingested some smoke and carbon!!
Very much agree with the comments on rendering....it seemed a thing in the middle of the 20th century to slap Portland Cement on everything. And of course it doesn't breathe....all right to begin with but once the inevitable expansion and contractions occur it cracks and the water gets under the skin and cannot escape. We are still in the process of getting some render off. It is a big job.
Then of course we have the fact our house has no foundations. None. Nada. The weight alone keeps it in place. That and the central fireplace.
Therefore if there is a sudden heavy downpour water literally comes under the walls, and flows across the tiles! I have a vax on hand to suck it up if it happens. The old wattle and daub infil between the timbers harbours mice and dormice.....another hazard. But would I swap it for something modern? No.
Still, compromises have to made.

[Bors]

I just love an honest opinion Jan .

[DaveP]

The old wattle and daub infil between the timbers harbours mice and dormice.....another hazard. But would I swap it for something modern? No.
Still, compromises have to made.

Compromises present opportunities.

The edible dormouse is the domesticated Glis glis, which when fattened can weigh up to 300 grams. The Roman cookbook Apicius, now thought to date from the late 4th or early 5th century, famously contains a recipe for stuffed dormouse

You can even get it a special home: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/d ... arium-rome

And I'm sure you could serve it like a Christmas pud with a silver Roman coin inside

[Littleboot]

And I'm sure you could serve it like a Christmas pud with a silver Roman coin inside

i hope it doesn't come to that. We do have Glisglis....they are called 'Loir' in France...but we also have another kind of dormouse you don't get in Blighty. The Garden Dormouse or 'Lerot'. Very pretty and not as big. Soft grey with white and black on its' face a bit like a small chipmunk.
Problem is, they don't stay in the garden if the opportunity presents.....they tend to get into the roof space of the gap between the upstairs floorboards and the ceiling below. They sleep from October to May and they make a real racket when they are making their nests. In fact the origin or many ghosts stories and the sound of dragging chains etc is believed to come from the noise made by dormice getting ready to slumber.
Nice twist with the coin inside it, pud-style. But I don't think I am that desperate just yet. (I imagine it tasted like a milder version of rabbit? Sort of like veal is to beef.) If push comes to shove there is altogether too much wild pig in the wood and a lot of venison on the hoof. Plump breasted pigeons festoon our meadow as well...so we'd have to work down a list of survival foods before we got to fattening the dormice. But still....never say never.

[Emily]

The cottage I grew up in, in Oxfordshire from age 5 - 24 was a very old cottage dating from the 1600’s. It still has its thatch (one of the few) and although it was originally 2 small workers cottages, that had been turned into 1 medium sized cottage, it looked much the same from the front. It would’ve originally been completely built from ironstone (that’s what we have around here) but at some point in its life, (but still a very long time ago) the ironstone frontage was replaced by brick, although the ironstone still came up around 2 feet. We don’t know why this was done, maybe there was a fire?? We never found out, but it had heaps of character. Unfortunately, I didn’t detect before my family moved out of it (in 2016) and it’s annoyed me ever since, as there could’ve been some amazing finds hiding in the garden. The house was and still is my favourite place in the world. I just can’t visit it anymore....

One unique thing about the cottage was that there were coins buried between the floorboards (we think put there for safe keeping and just never collected) that we left in situ and a person buried between the floorboards (in the lounge ceiling/upstairs bedroom floor) we never found out much about them, but we think they were one of the first occupants. They left a bump in the bedroom floor (luckily it was my sisters room and not mine )

[Littleboot]

Great story Emily. I understand the 'what might have been' feeling but, on the other hand, sometimes things are best left as mysteries and enigmas. All sorts of possibilities remain in tact. I have detected our cottage grounds and it remains the only field and garden I have 'done' around here which has no 'treasure' in it at all. best i have managed is a copper denier tournois from 1620....just about discernible.
It is a privilege to live in heritage buildings and all we can do is hand them on as well preserved as possible.