4 And 5, Mealcheapen Street

The buildings at 4 and 5 Mealcheapen Street are two terraced houses, now shops with offices, dating back to approximately 1656, although the front facade was rebuilt in the 18th century, with further additions and alterations including 1980s shop fronts on the ground floor. The construction is of purple-red brick in Flemish bond, featuring rubbed red brick flat arches, stone sills and keystones, a timber cornice, and a plain tile roof. A party-wall and a red brick stack with an oversailing course are also present.

The exterior has 4 windows on the first floor. First and second floor windows are near-flush sashes with 6 panes per sash, set in plain reveals, with sills and flat arches incorporating raised keystones. There are 2 roof dormers with casement windows. A crowning cornice tops the building. The ground floor features a passage opening, and Victorian-style shop fronts with pilasters, brackets, plate glass windows with slender mullions on panelled aprons, a glazed central door, fascia, and cornice.

The interior of the building retains a roof structure believed to be from the original house of 1656, consisting of 4 bays divided by open trusses with collars and ling braces; most rafters remain in place. The timbers are blackened, likely due to a fire in 1765.

Historical records indicate that following the 1765 fire, the front of No.5 was rebuilt. Mealcheapen Street thrived particularly in the 16th and early 17th centuries as a retail area, benefiting from its proximity to the Cornmarket. The buildings were originally built as one with No.6.

The listed buildings in Mealcheapen Street form a group with the listed buildings in Cornmarket and with the Church of St Swithun, Church Street.