12, 14 AND 16, CLOTH MARKET

12, 14, and 16 Cloth Market are houses that have been converted into shops and business premises, formerly known as the White Hart Inn. These buildings date from the late 16th century and incorporate some medieval elements. They were refronted in the late 18th century, with shop fronts added in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. The structure is built of Flemish bond brick, which has been colourwashed, and features a moulded stone eaves cornice along with timber framing in the refronting. Number 12 was remodeled in 1924 by Stockwell and Ditchburn. The Welsh slate roof has a tiled ridge.

The main street front has three storeys and four bays. In the third bay, there is a vehicle entrance leading to the White Hart yard. Three small 19th-century shop fronts occupy the other bays. The upper windows have been replaced with sashes under flat gauged brick arches. The rear wall retains some old stonework.

The rear wing facing the White Hart yard is two storeys high and has four irregular bays. It features an early 19th-century facade that mimics timber framing and is pebble-dashed. There is an elaborate central doorway flanked by large shop windows, with sash windows above, and a 17th-century window. To the left, a rendered section with a deep plinth includes a moulded and four-centred arched doorway.

Inside, the ground floor of the bay to the left of the yard entrance has very heavy ceiling beams. Some of the interval partitions have timber studding. The entire first floor is a large four-bay room, divided by heavy beams, with close-set joists that have trilobe mouldings and elegantly run-out stops. In the southern part of the rear wall, there is a stone fireplace with a massive chamfered lintel and solid jambs that are corbelled out in two stages to support the lintel. The jambs are chamfered on the shaft to the corbels and have small broaches at the top and bottom. At the north end of the room, there is a smaller similar fireplace, though its right jamb is damaged and the left jamb has been rebuilt in brick. These features appear to date from the late 16th century and are original. In the rear wing, which is part of number 16, the first floor ceiling also shows heavy beams, but no visible joists.

These buildings occupy medieval burgage plots, which are rare survivals in Newcastle, and they retain significant amounts of early fabric behind their later facades.