Colchester Archaeological Trust

CAT Report 2154: summary

Historic building monitoring and recording at Rye Cottage, Larks Lane, Great Waltham, Essex, CM3 1DT
by Sarah Veasey

Date report completed: April 2025
Location: Rye Cottage, Larks Lane, Great Waltham, Essex, CM3 1DT
Map reference(s): TL 6935412432
File size: 14,942 kb
Project type: historic building recording
Significance of the results:
Keywords:

Summary. Archaeological Trust at Rye Cottage, Larks Lane, Great Waltham, Essex in March 2025. When first built, Rye Cottage was a three-bay timber-framed structure. Constructed sometime between 1839 and 1874, the timber-framing uses a mixture of hand-sawn and machine-cut wood, with the roof likely covered with thatch. The use of timber and thatch were both somewhat outdated techniques at the time of construction, suggestive of a low-status building. Originally constructed as three units, the eastern and western cottages would have been small one-up-one-down dwellings. The central bay is open to more interpretation; no evidence of a fireplace or chimney breast or access to the flanking bays was observed, perhaps suggesting the bay was intended for seasonal occupation or storage. Historic mapping suggests that the cottages were quickly altered, and possibly extended to the east, reconfiguring them into dwellings by the end of the 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, Rye Cottage was extended multiple times to the south forming the structure present today.