[Examples known since c. 1600. The explanation ‘lump of clay’ given by Cope, Hampsh. Gloss., would tend to identify this with COB sb.1 sense 6 c; but this is otherwise improbable.] A composition of clay (marl, or chalk), gravel, and straw, used, esp. in the south-west of England, for building walls, etc.
1602. Carew, Cornwall (1769), 53 a. The poor Cottager contenteth himself with Cob for his Wals, and Thatch for his covering. Ibid. (1811), 249. The flood-gate will hold water best, if his sides be walled up with cob.
1797. Polwhele, Hist. Devon, I. 301. The inferior houses in Devon and Cornwall were built with mud, which was called cob.
1882. T. Mozley, Reminisc. Oriel College, I. ix. 72. Finding chalk cob the common material of the country.
1889. T. N. Brushfield, in Trans. Devon. Assoc., XXI. 323. The walls are of cob … and rest on a stone foundation.
b. attrib. and Comb., as cob cottage, house, wall (sometimes unnecessarily hyphened); cob-walled adj.; cob-parer, a tool used in building cob walls.
1790. J. Wolcott (P. Pindar), Rowl. for Oliver, Wks. II. 406. Make a fortune by a history of cobwalls, old chamber-pots, and rusty nails.
1808. Vancouver, Agric. Devon, 235.
1820. C. S. Gilbert, Antiq. Cornwall, 936. The houses in general, are cobwalled buildings.
1839. Loudon, Encycl. Archit., 839. The cob-parer is made of iron.
1859. H. Kingsley, G. Hamlyn, vi. (D.). The main village … consisted of a narrow street of cob-houses white-washed and thatched.
1870. Thornbury, Tour Eng., I. vii. 137. Homely cob walls square out the pastures.
1876. Miss Braddon, J. Haggard’s Dau., v. 64. Hymns which compared the cob-walled barn to the gorgeous temple in the sacred city.
1889. Temple Bar Mag., Aug., 577. A red cob cottage.
