40 Bridge Street

40 Bridge Street is a medieval timber-framed building of significant historical complexity. At its core lie the remains of a 15th-century hall house and 15th-century cross wing, with a possible 16th-century bay, all now encased within a late 18th-century brick inn. A mid-19th-century two-storey addition extends across the rear. Twentieth-century porches on the north and south elevations and single-storey outbuildings to the rear are excluded from this listing.

The timber frame is constructed from trestle-sawn oak and is encased in brick. Brick and stone chimney stacks serve the building. Windows are a mixture of late 18th-century, 19th-century and 20th-century timber casements. The roof is covered in slate tiles.

The plan comprises three bays of a 15th-century hall house aligned north to south, containing the service bay, cross passage and lower end of the hall. A two-bay cross wing extends east to west from the service bay and cross passage of the principal range. An additional bay occupies the south-west corner. The whole is contained within a roughly square brick building, with a two-storey addition to the rear.

The principal (west) elevation is unsymmetrical, revealing the earlier building beneath. It features an off-centre late 18th-century doorcase with Doric pilasters and flat moulded hood. Casement windows with diamond leaded lights flank the door, with three timber casement windows to the first floor. Two ridge stacks and a gable-end stack to the south elevation serve the building. The mid-19th-century rear addition is two storeys with a lateral brick stack.

Internally, the three bays of the 15th-century hall house and two bays of cross wing survive in the fabric, along with the additional bay. The floor joists of the jettied first floor of the cross wing and additional bay form the ceiling of the western half. These jetties were underbuilt in brick in the late 18th century. The main post of the southern truss of the hall house and part of the post plate are visible to the western wall, and a cambered doorhead marks the expected position of the passage between cross passage and service bay. At the southern end, in the former lower end of the hall, is a 17th-century chamfered beam with plain stops at its north end. A substantial stone stack, faced in brick, stands to the west wall.

Timber framing is more extensive at first-floor level. Most main posts of the roof trusses of both hall house and cross wing are visible, with both ranges having wall frames of large plain panels. The northern wall has been rebuilt in brick. A 17th-century partition wall runs through the service bay and cross passage, featuring a 17th-century plank door with strap hinges. The southern bay contains a central 17th-century chamfered ceiling beam with stepped stops at its north end; the wall plate to the east wall is chamfered with a run-out stop at the north end. A cambered doorhead separates the principal range from the cross wing. The partition dividing the cross wing into two bays may be 17th-century and incorporates a two-panel door with strap hinges with spearhead ends. The doorway between the 15th-century cross wing and the probable 16th-century bay holds a late 17th or early 18th-century two-panel door with L-hinges. The west wall of this bay may contain a cruck.

Three surviving roof trusses of the 15th-century hall house are preserved in the attic beneath a late 18th-century roof. Each has a cambered tie beam. The north truss bears a collar at purlin level and a king strut between tie beam and collar; stave holes to the principal rafters indicate former wattle and daub infill and mark this as the end truss. The second truss has been modified to accommodate an inserted doorway and carries curved angle braces to either side. The south truss has queen struts between tie beam and collar; the collar has been cut to form a doorway. Most common rafters survive, pegged into a single tier of through purlins, with windbraces on the east side of the roof structure. A stone stack with diagonally set shaft, probably inserted in the 17th century, stands at the west side of the third bay. The roof trusses of the cross wing extend west of the principal range. The east truss has a cambered tie beam with angle struts and is infilled with wattle and daub. The intermediate truss has an arch-braced collar with smoke-blackening; its rafters have been truncated at the collar to accommodate later roof construction. The west truss no longer survives beyond the tie beam at eaves level. The brick stack to the north wall of the cross wing appears to be late 18th-century, coinciding with the re-facing of the building in brick.