Cottage, Dunthwaite House, Dunthwaite

Summary

This small building stands close to the back door of the main house, the ground floor is taken up with a cart shed and service rooms while the first floor has 18th cenutry fireplace suggesting it was sleeping accomodation for the male household and estate staff.

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Description

This small building stands close to the back door of the main house, the ground floor is taken up with a cart shed and service rooms while the first floor has 18th cenutry fireplace suggesting it was sleeping accomodation for the male household and estate staff. As in building *1B the upper floor has a series of beams carrying a large number of hooks from which game birds might be hung. In this case the beams occur at and above ceiling level in a half storey attic, the beams being cleverly contrived to allow the shutters to open inwards.

IMPORTANT FEATURES - Fireplaces and internal shutters, game racks.

WALLS - The walls are of the same local sandstone as the rest of the buildings, laid in mortar and brought to courses with the quoin-stones where possible. THe quoins themselves are of a lightere limestone tooled as if to take render although there is no sign of this. THe majority of the windows and soors also have limeston surrounds with a well finished border around the openings standing slightly proud of the remainder of the quoins and the wall surface. THe cart shed doorway has a segmental brick arch, part of the internal wall behind the downstairs fireplace is also brick. The corridor link is largely of yellow brick.

ROOF - THe soffit of the rafters and the ridge triangle are plastered, but where this had collapsed the raters appeared to be sawn. A central tie beam truss has had a pair of vertical timbers nailed to each side, apparently to carry longitudinal members in turn supporting transverse timbers (in the form of a ladder). These form one of the game racks described below. Double purlins are visible below the soffit. THe main chimney stack above roof level has been removed.

DETAILS

CORRIDOR LINK - heavily refurniched 1985. Snadstone floor, ceiled.

PANTRY - red sandstone paving slavs and benches on brick? supports. The far bench may be an addition since it obstructs a now blocked doorway. Two low level beams wre presumably for hanging game.

BAKE HOUSE - sandstone floor and solid snadstone benches on either side of a large (blocked) fireplaceiwth simple rectangular opening. The left-hand bench is at a high level, rather like a bakestone, the other is almost at ground level and perfors no obvious function.A near vertical ladder rises from this room to the sleeping accommodation above.

WASH HOUSE - sandstone floor and one sandstone bench. The room is also fitted with two shallow sinks and a brick wash pot complete with tin lid.

CART SHED 1 - the cobbled yard runs into here, it's not clear what was to be stored within.

CART SHED 2 - also cobbled, hanging shelves nad tack hooks are fixed along the walls.

FIRST FLOOR - The E room is ceiled, but htis would seem to be an addition as it obscures the top section of the N window. A series of pegs are fixed to the W wall. BOth of the other rooms are heated by plain late 18th or early 19th century fireplaces constructed without the use of any metalwork. A series of beams on three levels are framed so that the internal shutters can be opened. These have a series of hooks attached to them from which game birds coudl be hung. The E room has a high level box built out of the previously mentioned oak panelling. It could not be inspected on the visit but may have been a dovecot.

(NT VBS SURVEYOR; 1986)

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