ODSEY HUNDRED 



COTTERED 



The village of Cottered lies about three-quarters of iron knocker. It seems probable that the present 

 a mile north of the Roman road above referred to, kitchen, and perhaps a small room and lobby to the 

 around and within a triangle formed by the junction of west of the kitchen, formed the old hall, the existing 

 the roads from Buntingford, Ardeley and Cumberlow passage occupying the place of the ' screens. 

 Green. The church stands 

 at the south angle of the 

 triangle in a fairly large 

 churchyard ' with the Lord- 

 ship to the south-east of it 

 and Cheynes, the manor- 

 house of Cheyney Cottered, 

 to the south-west. The 

 village is mainly along the 

 road a little to the north of 

 the church. The 18th- 

 century almshouses known as 

 the Town Houses, the village 

 school built in 1829, the 

 rectory and a Congregational 

 mission chapel stand in this 



The Lordship, now a 



farm-house, is a timber- 



framed building, occupied 



by Mr. Tucker. It stands 



in a moated inclosure, the 



moat being fairly perfect and 



filled with water on the 



south and east sides of the 

 house, but filled in on the 

 north and west. The house 

 apparently dates from about 

 the middle of the 15th cen- 

 tury, and contains several 

 interesting features of an t 

 T-shaped on plan, and th( 

 stories is placed in an angle of th 

 projects' 4. ft. on the north 



not very easy to determine the original plan, owing 

 to alterations and later subdivisions of the apart- 



) 1 The Town Hoi 



arly dat 



It is roughly 

 porch of two 

 is which only 



front. It is 



■ The entrance door is evidently part of the original 

 house. It is of oak, and has four panels the full height 



SO [JJJi ( tvrtw 

 O Macaw 



of the door with pointed arched heads filled with 

 cusping. The moulding is a simple cavetto. On 

 the door is an excellently designed late 1 7th-century 



1 In 1 657 there were houses 

 afterwards pulled down {East H, 



To the left of the entrance is now a sitting room 

 with oak panelling of the Jacobean period, which 

 apparently formed part of the original kitchen, as the 

 brew-house adjoins it and appears to have entered off 

 it at one time, and the fireplace and oven are back to 

 back. There is a Jacobean chimney-piece in the 

 sitting room, with an overmantel divided into two 

 parts by flat fluted pilasters, having projecting carved 

 frieze and cornice above. The frieze between the 

 pilasters is fluted. Each panel has two circular- headed 

 arches, round which are bands of a richly carved 

 interlacing pattern. Between the arches is a moulded 

 spindle or drop carried down about three-fourths the 

 height of the panels. The fireplace is modern. 



The upper floor contains a good deal of plain 

 Jacobean panelling, and some of the doors retain the old 

 iron hinges of the period. A few months ago some of 

 this panelling was temporarily taken down for repairs, 

 and it was found that the partitions had been previously 

 lined with boarding, much of which still remains, 

 and was decorated with painted work. 



There are large attics in the roof, but these are 

 not now used, as there is very little flooring on the 

 joists and there are no windows. There were no 

 doubt dormer windows at one time, as there are 

 several octagonal shafts of oak with perpendicular 

 moulded bases and embattled capitals, over which are 

 curved struts supporting the main roof timbers. These 

 form part of the original structure, and occupy a similar 

 position to the portion of the shaft still remaining in 

 the roof at Little Wymondley Bury. 



Externally the house is plastered, and at one time 



e was ornamented with flush panels filled with the usual 

 basketwork and other patterns, but only a little of the 



227 



