HILDENBOROUGH LOWER STREET (north side) TQ 54 NE 5/149 Little Lucy's Cottage GV II Small house. Probably a late C18 rebuilding of an earlier house with considerable re-use of C17 timbers. Ground floor English bond brick on a ragstone rubble plinth; first floor tile-hung; peg-tile roof; brick stacks. Plan and Development: South-facing single depth plan, 2 rooms wide, with an entrance into a stair hall to right of centre. The left hand room, which is slightly larger, was the hall-kitchen and is heated from a massive left end stack with a bread oven. The right hand end of the house may have been divided into 2 unheated service rooms, the present right end stack is probably C20 and is not tied into the end wall. The rear (north) outshut is an addition, probably of the C19. The house is sited east of and close to Lucy's Farmhouse (q.v.) and may have been part of the same complex. Exterior: 2 storeys and attic. Asymmetrical 3-window front, the roof gabled at ends, the projecting left end stack with tile-hung set-offs, both chimney shafts with corbelled brick cornices. Steps up to a 6-panel C19 front door, upper panels glazed, with a flat porch hood. 2 bricks to the door jamb are dated 1766, with the initials MH and AH. The windows are C19 timber casements with glazing bars: 3-light to the left (west) of the door, 2-light to the right with a one-light window above. A blocked opening with a segmental brick arch to the right of the front door suggests the existence of a cellar; the front elevation is buttressed at the left end. The ragstone plinth stops short at the outshut, which has a catslide roof and a C20 porch. Interior: Extensive C17 carpentry, most of the ceiling beams apparently re- used. The principal west room has a ceiling of intersecting moulded beams with scroll stops and hollow-chamfered stopped joists, all apparently truncated to fit the room. The exposed joists in the east end room also appear to be re-used, and the crossbeam with redundant mortises for a partition may also be secondary. The dog-leg stair, which rises to the attic, is probably late C18 with a moulded handrail. Early joinery includes late C17-C18 ledged plank doors. Roof: Tie-beam roof with staggered butt purlins, the construction is concealed over the left (west) end but appears to be consistent throughout. The tie beams are supported on wall posts, some with chamfered square-cut jowls. An attractive small traditional house of the region. Listing NGR: TQ5542448190