| Description | Hazlewood Cottages, Rothwell. Early 16th century timber framed house.
'Farmhouse, now house. Early C17 or earlier; altered. Daubed render on sandstone, pantiled roof with brick chimneys. T plan: 3 units, with rear wing. One and a half storeys; rendered band; 5 tie plates at 1st floor; shallow gabled porch offset to right of centre, 2 windows to the left and one to the right, all modern casements in square openings, and 3 gabled dormers with similar windows; 2 modern chimneys on ridge, Rear has wide single storey wing or porch, 4 small dormers, and wall of 1st unit breaks out slightly and has small stair light window. lnterior not inspected, but reported to be timber framed'.
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 26/09/1979. Date amended 28/03/1988. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1184727. Web site accessed 02/12/2013).
Hazlewood Cottage was the subject of an archaeological assessment by Column Giles (WYAS) in 1981 the photographic images and sketch plan produced by the assessment are held by WYAAS (Giles, C. (WYAS). 1981). The fieldwork report is transcribed below:
'This is a timber framed house, dating probably from the first half of the 16th century. The house was cased in stone and brick in the 18th and 19th centuries and sub divided into cottages.
The timber framed house was of four bays, giving a linear range running east west. Little remains of the framing; the west gable truss is almost intact, and one post of the truss to the east of it survives in the north wall. Apart from this, the form and extent of the range can only be reconstructed from the surviving wall plates. The northern wall plate is visible throughout the western three bays, and it might be thought that the range was of this length were it not for the survival of the southern wall plate in the east end bay. None of the roof trusses survive apart from that in the west gable, all the others tie beams and roof superstructures have been removed. The wall plate reveal that the framing was unpegged studs with pegged braces up from the main posts. The framing survives in the west gable; again the only pegged timbers are the braces and bressumer.
The pattern of the bay lengths, revealed by the seating for the tie beams in the top of the wall plates, allows some reconstruction of the plan and probable arrangement of the house. The longest bay is that to the west of the centre of the range. It may be assumed that this bay was occupied by an open hall. To the west is another long bay, and this was probably the parlour. To the east of the hall is a shorter bay. Analogies with other timber framed houses in the east of the country suggest that this bay provided heating for the hall, in the form of a firehood, and probably an entrance passage running behind the hood. None of this may be demonstrated here due to the destruction of the evidence. At least the east end of the range is another short bay, and this may be interpreted as a service bay below the passage.
The flooring throughout the house is later in date than the framed structure. The eaves of the house are very low (the post are only 11'5' tall), and these two facts suggest that the range was originally open from the ground to roof throughout, or perhaps only partially lofted. The hall was the only heated room. |