11 And 12, Mealcheapen Street

This is a house and shop, now two shops with a flat above, dating from the 1690s. It has undergone later additions and alterations, including a rear extension to the left-hand side (number 12) around 1768, and a shop front on the left around the 1870s. The building was originally built for Francis and Mary Moule. It is constructed of brick, painted on the left side, rendered and painted on the right, and has a plain tile roof with a hipped section on the left and a red end brick stack.

The exterior is two storeys with attics to the rear, featuring four first-floor windows. The left side has two 6/6 flush sashes with sills, while the right side has six-pane casement windows. There is a moulded band above the first floor and a more decorative band with modillions along the eaves. Raised copings are present on the right side. The ground floor shop fronts feature end pilasters, a plinth, plate-glass windows, and a canted glazed entrance door with a fascia and cornice. To the right, there is a glazed shop front with a glazed entrance door to the right, and an entrance to a passage on the left, with a panelled door and overlight. Stanchions are visible on both shop fronts.

The interior of the left-hand house (number 12) includes a fine open-well staircase with barleytwist-on-vase balusters and a closed string. There are chamfered beams, some with run-out stops, fireplaces, and exposed roof timbers in the attic, including trenched purlins and curved principals, as well as an exposed collar beam. Various door types are present, including eight-panel, six-panel (some with strap hinges in the attic), seven-raised-and-fielded-panel, and three-panel doors with S-hinges. Remains of panelling on the upper stage and some exposed rectangular framing are also visible. The attic contains close-studded partition walls.

Historically, between 1700 and 1750, the premises were owned by John Rea, an upholsterer, whose 1740 inventory reveals that he used the ground floor as a shop with a parlour in number 11. The rear wing of number 12 housed the kitchen. In the 16th and early 17th centuries, Mealcheapen Street was a prominent retail area, benefiting from its proximity to the Cornmarket. The listed buildings in Mealcheapen Street form a notable group with those in Cornmarket and with the Church of St Swithin, Church Street.