The Old Printing House

The Old Printing House is a Grade II* listed house built in 1733. It is constructed of Flemish bond brown brick, partly resting on a bedrock plinth, and features a graded grey slate roof. The building has two storeys and three windows, with a symmetrical front that has been altered by the addition of a shop window and door from the 19th century.

The centerpiece of the façade includes a pediment gable made of moulded brick, supported by brick pilasters. The main entrance features a door with six fielded panels and a square fanlight adorned with ornate cast-iron bars, which consist of two concentric circles with two concentric semi-circles on each side, all beneath a small dentilled brick pediment. To the right of the door is a flush 12-pane sash window set under a basket arch with a projecting key, also made of brick. The left wing contains a 19th-century shop window that is slightly larger than the former sash, featuring a basket arch that remains unaltered, with 20 small panes above three larger panes. Between the house door and the shop window is a small inserted 19th-century door with 16 panes (including margin panes) above two flush panels. Each entrance is accessed by a flight of four stone steps.

On the upper storey, there are three flush 12-pane sash windows under gauged brick heads with projecting brick keys. Beneath the pediment, a stone displays the Cholmondeley griffin in relief along with the date 1733. The rear of the building has altered openings on the lower storey and three leaded cross-casements under gauged brick heads on the upper storey.

Inside, the property features rock-cut, brick-lined cellars with brick barrel vaults. The principal rooms have oak doors with two panels. There are corner fireplaces, with the upper storey left room featuring an early 19th-century cast iron grate. The lower storey front room on the left has a simple cyma plaster cornice. The building contains chamfered oak beams and oak joists. A well-crafted oak stair, with one flight per storey leading to the upper floor and attic, has shaped newels and rail, with two turned balusters per step. The roof structure is simple, made of oak, with purlins supported by cross-walls and a ridge held up by struts from the spine wall. This building showcases an unusual Classical treatment for a small structure.