Summary
An C18 detached cottage, extended in the late C20.
Reasons for Designation
Old Post Cottage, Amport, an C18 cottage extended in the C20, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a legible, C18 cottage, illustrative of a modest vernacular domestic building of the period;
* the cottage survives well and largely retains its form, including the cob exterior walls, representative fenestration, chimney stacks, the roof structure and its thatched covering;
* despite modernisation and opening up of the ground floor, the original plan remains largely legible.
Group value:
* with adjacent Grade II-listed buildings dating from the C17, C18 and early C19.
History
Old Post Cottage was probably built in the C18 and lies on the north side of the road which passes through the historic hamlet of Sarson. It is shown on the 1840 Tithe map, located to the eastern side of its plot. This arrangement can be seen in more detail on the Ordnance Survey (OS) map of 1873 which illustrates a path leading north to a central front door and a circular structure to the south-west of the cottage (probably a well or pond), which has a path leading west to an adjacent field. A front porch is shown on the OS1:2500 map (published 1865-1893), and the existing porch could feasibly date from the late C19, although it is probably of C20 date. Subsequent OS maps show a similar plan with the exception of outbuildings to the north-west of the cottage which change slightly in plan over time. By 1984 they had been replaced by an extension, after which the cottage was listed at Grade II.
The plan of the original cottage would probably have consisted of two rooms to the ground floor, with entry from the front door into a room with a functional fireplace and a back door (now entry to the extension) and stairs (no longer in place) to the north-west corner. The room to the eastern end was also heated but the fireplace has now been blocked-up. The two upper rooms have retained their earlier plan although the dividing wall is a replacement. They are approached from a rear passage (where the former stair would have terminated). These upper rooms may have been heated but if so their fireplaces have since been blocked-up.
The functional fireplace to the ground floor has been rebuilt in brick and includes a large replacement bressumer, the supporting structure of which has traditional tusk tennon joints. The visible floor-frame has been replaced with C20 joists and a spine beam. The outshut to the rear of the cottage is a C20 addition as is the large extension to the west.
Details
An C18 detached cottage, extended in the late C20. These C20 additions are all of lesser interest.
MATERIALS: rendered cob walls on a flint base with timber casement windows, under a thatched roof.
PLAN: the cottage faces south and consists of two main elements. The eastern side is formed of the original cottage which has a central front door, an open plan to the ground floor and an opening to the north-west (into the extension). There are two bedrooms on the first floor with a passageway to the rear which also connects with the extension to the west.
The late-C20 extension has an entrance porch to the western side. On the ground floor there is a kitchen, cloakroom and sitting room along with a straight stair to the rear. On the first floor there are two bedrooms and a bathroom.
EXTERIOR: the two elements are unified by a thatched roof. The original cottage is a two-storey, symmetrical, three-bay building constructed in rendered cob under a thatched roof with gable stacks. It has a central doorway with a brick porch, which is probably of C20 date. It has a round-headed arch and a C20 door, under a thatched roof. There is a C20, double-glazed casement window to either side on both floors. The eastern and rear elevations are blind except for a C20 outshut to the rear which has a casement window.
The late-C20 extension to the west projects slightly forward of the earlier cottage and has a higher ridge. The south-facing elevation has a half-hipped gable which faces south and casement windows to each storey including an eye-brow dormer. On the western elevation there is a thatched porch with C20 door and irregular casement windows, including an eye-brow dormer. On the rear elevation the thatch extends down to just above ground level and includes a further eye-brow dormer window. The ground-floor fenestration to the rear of the extension is irregular.
INTERIOR: the floor frame of the original cottage has C20, slender, white-painted floor joists, which are supported by a light-weight spine beam. The fireplace to the western end has a rebuilt, brick surround in the form of an inglenook with later bressumer. This is supported by back to front beams secured with tusk tenon joints. There are no internal doors on the ground floor and those to the first floor, along with the partition wall, are C20. The end bedroom to the west has a single, timber roof support which breaks through the sloping ceiling. The attic has an A-frame roof constructed with roughly-squared timbers, some of which have been replaced by C20 machine-cut equivalents.
The extension interior has typical, C20 fixtures and fittings.
SUBSIDIARY BUILDINGS: to the south-west of the cottage there is a circular well which is around 1m in diameter. It stands around 0.5m high, has a rendered finish and is capped by a circular, timber-boarded cover.
