Cockpit Cottage

Elham has many old buildings, some dating from the middle ages, but I have already shared photos of most of them; for today's Wide Wednesday challenge I wanted to find something I have not blipped before. My circuit round the village took me past several possible subjects, but even more electrician's vans and heating oil tankers than usual filled whatever gaps were left between the residents' cars. Cock Lane, however, is too narrow for anything to park at all; this is as much of Cockpit Cottage as I could fit in, when squeezed with my back to the fence of the house opposite.

The name of the house and the lane identify its story. The pub on the square, just a few metres up the lane and now called the Kings Arms, was originally the Cock and hosted the village cock pit. It was in existence in 1605, possibly earlier, and its name was changed in 1830. This cottage backs onto the courtyard behind the pub; I'm not sure whether its structure incorporates elements of the cock pit, or whether it was simply built on the site: a search of the historical society website only provided a list of its occupants, starting from 1830. It's a quaint old building with an unusual shape which probably reflects that of the cock pit; there are two curious little shuttered openings on the wall adjoining the lane, and the main part of the building looks as though it may be octagonal or similar. I can probably find out more, but not tonight. Last night's long account of my French connections made for a very late night. Thank you to everyone who commented. I'm sorry I haven't responded or browsed any journals: I'm again struggling to keep up with processing and posting, and still have a huge number of bluebell photos from yesterday to sort through before I can post a Tiny Tuesday photo, so catching up will be a gradual process.