44 And 45, High Street

This is a timber-frame house, originally one building, now divided into two houses at 44 and 45 High Street. It was largely built in the second half of the 15th century and was refronted in the early 18th century, with renovations carried out in the mid-1970s. The structure is timber-framed and clad in brick, topped with a tile roof. It has three framed bays, originally with a hall in the centre. The house is two storeys high, with boxed wooden eaves and a band marking the ground floor. There is a rendered plinth and five windows: a three-light casement to the left, with the remaining windows being 2-light casements from the 20th century. The ground floor has three windows, a three-light casement to the left, and two more 2-light casements from the 20th century. A blocked entrance to the former number 43 is located between the two windows on the left. The entrance to number 44, approached by three stone steps, has a concrete lintel, wooden architrave, and a 20th-century glazed door. The entrance to number 45, also approached by three stone steps, has a wooden architrave and a 20th-century glazed door. The rear wall framing shows two square panels in height with curved tension braces and large curved angle braces. The trusses have arch-braced tie-beams, two raking struts, a central vertical strut to the collar, clasped purlins, and curved wind-braces. In the left-hand bay, exposed floor joists are visible. The floor in the central hall is likely an insertion, with provision for a smoke bay at the south end; the roof of this bay is heavily smoke-blackened. The building’s group value lies in being a well-preserved and significant example of a timber framed building within the historic townscape.