MSO10694 - Lorna Cottage and Cottage adjoining to west, West Porlock (Building)

Cottage enlarged as farmhouse, now 2 cottages. C16-C17 enlarged and reroofed late C19. Roughcast over rubble and possibly cob, half hipped double Roman tiled roof, large lateral stack with slate roofed bread oven projection to right of entrance, external stone stack left gable end with brick cap. L-plan, 2 cell and cross passage enlarged one bay right, extended 2 bays at rear. One and a half storeys, 2:2 bays, wall recessed end bay right with 2-light casement set below eaves, others left set half way into roof space, ground floor left 3-light leaded iron casement, plank door beside stack, right iron framed inglenook light, 3-light iron casement without leading right, 2-light beyond. Left return entry to Lorna Cottage beside gable end, extension of 2 bays set back into hillside. Interior partially sighted; stair turret opening out of hall heated by lateral stack, chamfered beam stops not visible, possibly jointed cruck trusses to original dwelling; said to have been an inn at one time called "Live and Let Live". [1] English Heritage Listed Building Number: 265475. First Listed on 2 January 1986. [2] L-plan. Stone, Render, roughcast and pebbledash walls. Cruck, Half-hipped roof [3] At the top of the steep on the left is Fern Cottage, part of an old house, which sometime in the last century was used as a public house, the Live and Let Live. The last landlady was a Mrs Burgess, whose descendants told me that it was an ale house. Later occupants collected ferns, which were sent to London to be used by fishmongers to lay their fish out on. [4] The building was visited in April 2012 as part of the rapid condition survey of Exmoor's Listed Buildings 2012-13. It received a BAR score of 6. [5]