57 And 57A, Broad Street

This building at 57 and 57A Broad Street, Worcester, began as an inn and is now a shop with offices above. It dates primarily to the 18th century, although the core of the structure has origins before 1560, with later additions and alterations including a shop front installed in the 1970s. The facade is stuccoed over brick, with a concealed roof. It stands three storeys high, with four windows on the first floor. The first-floor windows are single-pane sashes with horns, while the second-floor windows are two-pane sashes with horns, all set in plain reveals with sills. The building features a decorative frieze, cornice, and a low, rounded parapet. The ground floor has a continuous glazed shop front with a centrally placed entrance, and a further entrance at the right with a renewed glazed door.

The interior ground floor has been altered, and the rest of the building was not inspected. Historically, the property was the Antelope Inn, owned in 1560 by the wealthy merchant Robert Yowle. His will left the inn and other properties to the city of Worcester to create a fund for poor relief. Significant work was carried out in 1562 and 1574, with an extension added in 1578. Beneath the 18th-century facade, remnants of the earlier structure remain. A storage room contains roof trusses with clasped purlin construction, and a timber-framed range runs along the east side of the yard. In the 16th century Broad Street was the second most important commercial thoroughfare in the city, being a direct route from the bridge and housing business premises for several traders and inns. Other buildings along Broad Street are known to have 17th-century or earlier origins.

The building contributes to a significant group of listed buildings on Broad Street, including numbers 10, 10A, 11, the Crown Inn, 12, 18, 19, 29, 32-36, 40, 41, 43-49, 51-63, 69, 70, and the Church of All Saints.