The Cott Inn is a medieval

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

Dartington Dartington is a village in Devon, England. Its population is 876. The electoral ward of ''Dartington'' includes the surrounding area and had a population of 1,753 at the 2011 census. It is located to the west of the River Dart, south of Dar ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, in the southwest of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Founded in 1307, it is the second oldest inn in Britain, and a

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

The Cott Inn was founded in 1307 while the Fitz Martin family held the manor of

, making it the second-oldest inn in Britain. It is named for the merchant Johannes Cott, like the local hamlet of Cott. The inn served travellers, including those carrying wool or tin, on the

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

road between Ashburton and

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

. The inn's medieval walls are made of stone rubble and "perhaps some cob" (subsoil mixed with straw), rendered and painted white. It has a

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

, supposedly the longest such roof in Britain. Thick closely-spaced rough-hewn wooden cross-beams support the low ceilings. The rooms have

inglenook An inglenook or chimney corner is a recess that adjoins a fireplace. The word comes from "ingle", an old Scots word for a domestic fire (derived from the Gaelic ''aingeal''), and "nook". The inglenook originated as a partially enclosed hear ...

fireplaces. Its original plan was of three rooms with a through passage, with chimney-stacks in the gables at both ends; if there was an open central hall, it has left no trace. The room at the higher end has a stone

newel A newel, also called a central pole or support column, is the central supporting pillar around which a helical staircase winds. It can also refer to an upright post that supports or terminates the handrail of a stair banister (the "newel post") ...

staircase beside the chimney-stack. The building was remodelled, probably late in the 17th century, and extended in the 18th century. The upper windows are 19th or 20th century; some of them break the line of eaves with "eyebrows in the thatch". The lower windows are older 4-lights. The roof is supported on "principals" (timbers) with "straight feet" bedded into the tops of the front and back walls. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

; it was added to the list in 1952.

Reception

Gemma Bowes and colleagues in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described it as "a homely family-run pub...a cosy choice for winter, and with live music in the bar on Wednesday and Sunday nights the atmosphere can be crackling." They described the five bedrooms as "bright, modern, and comfortable". Anna Turns, reviewing the inn for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', wrote that the rooms had "much more personality than any run-of-the-mill chain-pub accommodation", while the made-to-order dishes were "not speedy pub grub but worth the wait". In her view, "this charming historic Devonshire gastropub has a great seasonal menu, heaps of character and a lively and welcoming atmosphere." Patrick McCaig, reviewing the inn for ''DevonLife'', calls it friendly and well run. Visit Totnes calls it a "stunning 14th century thatched pub ... with cosy log fires" for the winter and a "large pretty garden" and delicious food from the "alfresco kitchen" for the summer. ''

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History 20th century Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen Wheeler, Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 19 ...

'' states that "The 14th-century Cott is pretty much the perfect English inn: rambling, thatched and lined with beams."

Awards

In 2016, the Cott Inn was 8th in ''The Daily Telegraph'''s list of "30 Best Pubs in Britain". In 2019, it was named "Great British Pub of the Year". Also in 2019, ''The Guardian'' listed the Cott Inn among its "40 great cosy hotels, B&Bs and pubs with rooms for winter".

References

External links

{{Coord, 50.4424 , -3.7085 , type:landmark_region:GB-DEV , display = title Grade II listed pubs in Devon South Hams