Picturesque English Cottages and Their Doorway Gardens 
A COTTAGE AT BATTLE, ADJOINING THE ABBEY 
side the parlor (B), and on the other, kitchen 
and offices. The projecting wings have 
usually gables. Sometimes there is only one 
wing, and the house-plan assumes the shape 
of a T or L. 
At Eltham, Kent, there are some cottages 
constructed on this plan. The old house at 
Keevil is a typical example of the tradition 
ot the central hall. The cottage 
at Boughton - under - Blean 
Kent, is a remarkable ex¬ 
ample of a timber house 
with a central recess, 
indicating the posi¬ 
tion of the great hall. 
The way in which 
these timber houses 
were built is as fol¬ 
lows: I’lie founda¬ 
tions of the frame were 
constructed of stone or 
brick, local ragstone being 
extensively used in Surrey. 
Above this base, which 
stood about a foot high, stout beams, form¬ 
ing a sill, were placed horizontally and large 
upright storey posts were erected at the 
angles and at intervals of from seven to ten 
feet. The corner posts were usually larger 
and stouter than the others, and in some 
important houses measure as much as 14 
inches by 8 inches in their sections. The 
usual size for ordinary cottages 
is about 8 to 9 inches square. 
The older houses have for 
a corner post the butt of 
a tree placed root up¬ 
ward with the top 
part curving diago¬ 
nally outwards in or¬ 
der to carry the angle- 
posts of the upper 
storey. These assist 
greatly in supporting 
the weight of the upper 
part of the house. They 
are often cut into brackets 
both on the outside and in- 
OI.D COTTAGES AT ELTHAM, KENT 
