April Cottage, 8 Brixworth Road, Spratton with some new Thatch. Colin Donnelly, the owner of April Cottage, having a break from painting the windows after the new ridge was finished.
Colin writes: "The age of the cottage is a bit of a mystery but I am told it started life as part of a farm complex comprising of the farm house (no 10 Brixworth rd), the Old Coach house (next door) and April Cottage which was a barn. There is a plaque on the gable end of no. 10 which says 1755 so it must have been built around this time or slightly later? At some point it was converted into two houses before it became one and you can still see evidence of this as there are meat hooks in the ceiling at either end of the house that would have been in the pantry of each one. The kitchen at the front gable end of the house is an extension but the construction of the walls in the original part of the house is made of cob.
The previous owner told me that during the second world war a German bomber was shot down in the area the crew bailed out. When they were captured they were taken to April Cottage and kept as prisoners until they were taken to a P.O.W. camp. Apparently they were fed tea and cakes and the locals all came around for a nose! Its an interesting story however I can't vouch for its authenticity?"
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