Ireland'S Mansion

Ireland's Mansion is a house that has been divided into shops and offices, built around 1575 for John Ireland, a wool merchant. It features a timber-framed structure with a plain tiled roof, rising three storeys with attics and comprising four bays. The ground floor has three shop fronts that were added in the early 20th century, along with shallow arched doorways that have moulded architraves and enriched spandrels, leading to internal passageways. The building has corbelled projections over the ground floor, with alternately squared and semi-octagonal canted bays, each featuring slightly projecting oriel windows in the square bays and sash windows in the canted bays. Oriel windows are also present in the recesses between the projecting bays. Each tier of bays slightly overhangs, with the entire second storey jettied out. The upper storeys are framed with close studding, displaying twisted shafts on vertical members and some ogival tension bracing. Above each bay, there is a stilted gable that includes a two-light casement window, a carved bressumer, barge-boards with finials, and king-post framing with herringbone bracing. The building has gable and axial stacks. However, no original features remain inside.