This cottage [camera pans to almost mansion sized house] is priced at £450,000

[KievLoverTwo]

I'm very confused about what seems to constitute a cottage in our country. Before I moved to the countryside, I perceived a cottage to be a small, somewhat twee looking, chocolate box, small house, possibly with a thatched roof. The sort of house Miss Marple lived in.

But I increasingly see homes listed as cottages when I am property hunting that don't fit my pre-conceived notions of what a cottage is, in any form.

Examples:

This just looks like a big-arse house to me:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136417256#/?channel=RES_BUY

As does this:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141243596#/?channel=RES_BUY

This one's called Holly Cottage. I would call it a house:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136944203#/?channel=RES_BUY

On this morning's escape to the country, she was showing a couple a vast, detached house. This thing was three stories high and looked as though it was 4,000 square ft or bigger. The kitchen/diner in it was at least 30ft by 30ft.

So, how is this a cottage and not just a massive detached house?

Why is my impression of what a cottage so terribly wrong?

This is the first result that I can find (that doesn't resemble Miss Marple's house) that is more in keeping with what I would expect to see when someone says 'cottage'

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/141873827#/?channel=RES_BUY

Someone has called this a cottage, but surely it's a bungalow:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86335740#/?channel=RES_BUY

COTTAGE FOUND!!!

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86559252#/?channel=RES_BUY

Help me out here, folks?

Technically yes it’s actually still a bungalow, a bungalow is either a one storey house or a one storey house with a second partial floor of rooms set into the roof space.

Putting stairs in and using the attic space doesn’t stop it being a bungalow.

They are very common, so surprised by this answer. It’s just using the roof space as rooms, it’s still a bungalow.

I suppose frogmore is a cottage compared to Buck. Palace.

@AlltheFs now that's gorgeous!!

It doesn't really help if you're looking for a home with no stairs though. It would be nice to have a 'converted bungalow' category to waste less of people's time.

Probably but it's a bazillion years since I was last house hunting so the concept of a 2 storey bungalow has passed me by until now.

@AlltheFs

Can we please keep the gorgeous Rutland a secret please!!

I've read it so many times now the word cottage has completely lost all meaning. Which seems quite apt.

Its a bit like people calling a suburb a village , drives me nuts , a village is not 3-4 000 houses

@AlltheFs ah what a beautiful house/cottage!!!

Yeah, I think that's known as a hamlet.