NHER 45483 (Building record) - 11, 15 and 17 Massingham Road

Block of three cottages, perhaps once with further subdivisions.
Aligned east to west. Two storeys. Front wall rendered, rear covered by carrstone pentise. East gable wall of silver carr with brick at top and gable of carrstone; brick quoins may have diagonal skintlings and so be pre 1780s. Interior of no 17 seen; now lobby entrance with central stack but fireplace faces west and there is a gable stack to the east; these are said to have served two cottages of one room on each floor, now amalgamated. The upper floor and attic supported on thin beams. Date perhaps early 18th century.
The east gable stack has a pyramidal outline on the upper floor. Attached to the face of the stack, behind modern cladding, was found what seems to be a rolled up fragment of shawl. This may be a remnant of the practice of attaching part of a baby’s clothing to a stack to decoy any hurtful influences coming down the chimney, as practiced in the 16th/17th centuries.
E. Rose (NLA), 12 August 2006.