172 High Street

172 High Street

A timber-framed house, thought to date to the 17th century or earlier, later altered and possibly extended.

The house is constructed of a timber frame with roughcast render covering to the street elevation and weatherboarding to the north gable. The remaining walls are of brick infill, and the roof is covered in thatch with two brick ridge stacks.

The building has a linear four-bay plan with an off-centre entrance unrelated to the principal hearth. The house comprises four bays, three of which form the central and southern parts and are of a single storey with attics. The remaining bay at the north end is of two full storeys, with the roof stepped at the junction to respond to the change in levels.

The front (west) elevation has an off-centre doorway to the south of the two-storey bay, fitted with a painted plank door. To the left are a four-light and a two-light window; to the right is a three-light window, all with side-hung casements. At first-floor level in the north-end bay is a two-light window with glazing bar casement frames. Further south beyond the doorway is a gabled dormer with a two-light glazing bar casement. The window openings mostly have plain surrounds of painted timber.

The rear elevation has exposed framing of mixed character with brick infill panels. The bay to the right of the south-end bay is roughcast and has a plain doorway with narrow flanking single-light windows. The next bay has a single-light and a three-light window set within the exposed framing, and above is a gabled dormer with a two-light window with glazing bar casement frames. The dormer sits within an area of plain tiling set into the thatch cover. The north-end bay has a deep curved tension brace to the upper floor framing and a single window opening to both levels.

The interior comprises four distinct bays of varying width, retaining much exposed framing. The south-end bay is open to the ridge and provides the only clear access to the roof structure, which has a single tier of purlins. Much smoke blackening is visible in the upper part of the bay, affecting both wall frame members and roof timbers. The west roof slope incorporates a long curved wind brace and some smoke-blackened rafters, below which is a tie beam and wall post, offset from the face of a roughly-finished internal masonry wall that incorporates the building's principal hearth, located in the adjacent bay to the north.

The hearth is formed of brick and has a deep recess set below a plain timber lintel, incorporating an oven in the right-hand side and small shallow recesses in the rear wall. A chamfered spine beam with lamb's tongue stops is set on a timber pad in the brickwork above the hearth lintel and carries exposed floor joists. The partition wall between this bay and the third bay has exposed studwork and a central doorway. The third bay forms the entrance hall to the house and accommodates a 20th-century bathroom enclosed by half-glazed 20th-century doors. To the side of the bathroom area is a flight of 20th-century stairs giving access to the upper floor.

The three upper-floor rooms all retain some exposed framing of modest scantling and tension braces to corners, with some visible wattle and daub infill panels to partition walling. There are tapered masonry hoods to the ground-floor hearths and in two upper-floor rooms, but these do not incorporate surrounds or fireplaces. All of the upper-floor rooms are ceiled, thus concealing the upper sections of the roof structure, but the taller north-end room has an exposed cambered tie beam.