Remains of the Old George Inn

Commercial storage building incorporating the remains of a medieval masonry building and gateway, built in the C15 or early C16; the first floor was rebuilt and second floor added around 1929.

MATERIALS: the roof has a plain tile covering. The ground floor is constructed of coursed rubble stone, and first and second floors of red brick laid in English bond with coursed rubble stone quoins and window jambs.

PLAN: the building is rectangular on plan, aligned north to south. Attached at its north-east corner to the rear of the former Debenhams department store (constructed in 1938 fronting High Street and Silver Street, extended along High Street in 1955).

EXTERIOR: this rectangular-plan three-storey building to the rear of the former Debenhams department store incorporates the medieval remains of the Old George Inn as coursed rubble stone at ground floor level, surviving in some areas to a maximum of 4m in height. The first floor was rebuilt in brick and a second floor added around 1929; the red brick walls are laid in English bond, with coursed rubble stone incorporated into the quoins and window jambs. The pitched roof, rebuilt around 1929, has a plain tile covering. The east and west elevations each had a medieval pointed-arch to a central carriageway, however these arches were removed and replaced by flat-arched reinforced concrete beams around 1955; the west opening is enclosed by a roller door. The west elevation to Mayes Yard has a camber-arched door opening to the right of the archway occupying the position of an earlier door or window opening. The first and second floors each have seven bays of flat-arched metal-framed casement windows. The east elevation has a single window to the second floor, two windows to the first floor, and both floors have a fire escape door and shared metal stairs descending to the loading bay. At ground floor level, a C20 corrugated-sheet roof extends east over the loading bay.

INTERIOR: the north wall of the former carriageway retains exposed rubble masonry and evidence of a blocked segmental-arched doorway in a chamfered surround near the west end. Over the blocked doorway, three flat-arched windows were introduced around 1929. A flat concrete ceiling was introduced over the former carriageway in the C20. The south wall of the former carriageway was rebuilt in brick in the C20 and painted. The storeroom to the south retains exposed rubble masonry walls; it too has a flat concrete ceiling. Access to the upper floors is granted by a winder stair in the building attached to the north-east corner. The upper floors each have a corridor running north – south along the east side, and former storage rooms, work rooms, rest rooms and lavatories off the west sides; these rooms do not retain any historic fixtures.