Guildhall,King Edward VI Grammar School

The Guildhall, now King Edward VI Grammar School, is a timber-framed building with plaster infill, dating from approximately 1417, with a slightly later addition to the left end. Originally built for the Guild of the Holy Cross, it incorporates an earlier house to the rear. The building has a tile roof and stands upon a renewed ashlar base. It is designed with an L-shaped plan and comprises a six-window range over two storeys. The first floor is jettied, supported by moulded bressumers with joist ends. An iron gate provides entry to the left-hand bay. The ground floor windows are five-light arrangements with leaded glazing behind diagonal wood mullions and plain sills, with a three-light window at the left end. First-floor windows are generally four-light, though one to the left end has two lights and one to the centre has three. Close studding with tension braces is visible on the right end of the building.

The rear elevation features a jettied first floor and a gabled wing to the left, including an inner return lean-to outshut and an outer return gabled wing. There is a return entrance and an elliptical arch leading to a through-passage. Fenestration is varied, including large six- and seven-light diagonal-mullioned windows to the ground floor and cross-casements to the first floor. The wing incorporates a first-floor four-light ovolo-mullioned and transomed window, and similar three-light windows to gabled dormers on the outshut; a single window is found to the return.

The interior hall contains double-chamfered beams, a 15th-century moulded spine beam with run-out stops, and a blocked south window. Evidence of a former dais and remnants of 15th-century wall paintings and inscription are present. A 20th-century staircase complements an original winding staircase. The Over Hall is characterized by arch-braced tie beam trusses with collars and struts, with signs of former partitioning on the south side. A plaster panel displays inscribed names, along with old desks and a master's chair. The wing, serving as an armoury, features early 17th-century panelling and a fireplace with painted Stuart arms. An ogee-headed doorway displays remains of painted decoration. An upper room once featured moulded ceiling beams and a ceiling, now removed, and incorporates a painting of Tudor roses. An ogee-headed doorway leads to a wide-boarded door fitted with strap hinges.

The Guild was founded in 1269 and refounded in 1403; its activities were suppressed in 1547, transferring the Guildhall to the corporation, who used the hall for meetings until 1842. Plays were performed here in 1569 and later. The guild’s school was reconstituted as the present grammar school in 1555, with the Over Hall used for teaching. It is believed that William Shakespeare (1564-1616) attended the school.