7, Church Street

This is a house dating from around the 16th century, with significant alterations and extensions in the early 17th century and the 18th century, and further changes in the 20th century. It is timber-framed, with some parts faced in red brick, and has a clay tile roof with gabled ends. There are brick chimney stacks. The plan consists of a 2-bay, 2-storey timber-framed front range, and a narrower, 1-bay timber-framed rear wing, likely a 17th-century rebuilding of an earlier structure. In the 18th century, the rear wing was extended by one bay, the front range was faced in brick, and a cross-passage was created through the right-hand (east) bay, with an axial stack built backing onto the passage.

The south front is asymmetrical, with two windows. It has 2- and 3-light casement windows with horizontal glazing bars and cambered brick arches, a passageway on the right, and a ground floor wall rebuilt in brick. The rear (north) wing has exposed timber-framing and brick nogging. The brick extension has corbelled brick verges, casement windows, and a plank door.

Inside the front range, a ground floor room features a chamfered axial beam with straight cut stops, an inserted brick stack, and a fireplace with a re-used chamfered bressumer inscribed with the date 1647. The soffit of the fireplace has been cut out to form an arch. Above this room is a chamber open to a 2-bay roof with a queen-strut tie-beam and collar trusses, clasped purlins, and curved wind-braces. The end trusses have jowled posts and curved braces to the tie-beams. The rear wing features a chamfered axial beam, cut jowled posts with curved braces to the tie-beam and collar trusses, king-posts and clasped purlins, and common-rafter couples, some of which appear to be re-used and smoke-blackened. A kitchen in the rear wing extension has a re-used chamfered axial beam with pyramid stops, a fireplace with an unchamfered timber lintel, and a small 19th-century range.