41-45, HIGH STREET

This is a row of three houses, now used as shops and flats, built in the mid to late 17th century. It was altered in the early 19th century and remodelled in the late 19th century. The houses are timber-framed, with rendered walls. The front has plastered infill between planted timbers. The roof is slate-covered. The building has three framed bays and three storeys. A brick ridge stack is positioned off-centre to the left, and there is an integral brick end stack to the right. The left side has early 19th century sash windows with 20 panes on the first floor and 16 panes on the second. The right side has two bays of 3-light wooden casements dating to the 19th century. There are three early to mid-19th century shop fronts. These have reeded and panelled pilaster strips, fluted Doric quarter columns flanking the door to the right, and later plate-glass windows and hair-glazed panelled doors. Interior inspection was limited, but chamfered ceiling beams with run-out stops were noted in the ground-floor front rooms. It is possible the range initially comprised a single house, or that it represents an early example of a planned terraced row incorporating living space above ground-floor shops.