44, Friar Street

WORCESTER

SO8554NW FRIAR STREET 620-1/17/300 (West side) 22/05/54 No.44

GV II

House, now offices. Late C16/early C17 with later additions and alterations; major repairs, and reworking of front elevation by F W B Charles in 1983/84. Timber-frame with rendered infill to ground-floor and stucco first-floor. Rectangular plan of 2 bays, longitudinal axis at right angles to the street. Building is without flank walls and thus largely supported by its neighbours (which must therefore pre-date it). 2 storeys and cellar. 2 first-floor windows. Renewed close-studding to ground-floor, original bressumer and joists to jettied upper storey. 6/6 flush sashes with moulded architrave, probably inserted in the early C18. Shop window and planked door to right part of 1984 restoration. INTERIOR: retains some small square timber panelling believed installed by Dud Dudley in the mid C17; until recently this covered painted acanthus leaves, done in black and white on the first-floor party walls and thought executed soon after the house was built. HISTORICAL NOTE: Believed to have been occupied by Dud Dudley who ran the family ironworks. Said to have perfected a method of smelting iron using coal as opposed to charcoal; rote "Metalium Mastis or iron made with Pit-coale, Sea-coale etc.", published in London in 1665. Dudley is also associated with Nash House (qv) in New Street. This building was originally gabled over the street with a jetty at first-floor and possibly also at the tie beam. Sometime later this was altered to a roof with its eaves parallel to the street, as its neighbours. The building was in a poor structural condition in the 1980's and the opportunity was taken by F W B Charles to reinstate the original facade based on the remaining evidence. (Molyneux N, Hughes P, Price S: Vernacular Architecture Group Spring Conference Worcs 1995: 2.7; Worcester Streets: Hughes P and Molyneux N: Friar Street: Worcester: 1984-: 23; Charles F W B: Survey & repair notes as part of planning applications, 1983: 83/1117, 83/1118).