Interesting as I haven't heard of Swift before. This old Georgian cottage dates from around 1760 and was built on land known as Flat House Piece and Flat Croft which became the cemetery. By 1848 it was in the possession of the Whitehouse family who owned and farmed much of the local land. In particular, it was owned and occupied by John Whitehouse. He would go on to build a terrace of hovels for the poor known as Whitehouse Cottages on the same land. Subsequently demolished, I could still find bricks from the demolition in the bottom corner of the cemetery in my younger days.
The local historian N C Meacham recalls the thatch being removed from the cottage as a WWII precaution. However, I'm convinced that it was reinstated after the war, and that is how I remember the cottage. As a child I had a saying: "Moor End Lane has two old cottages - one is thatched but not half-timbered (this one), and one is half-timbered but not thatched (Moat Cottage)."
