The Guildhall

The Guildhall is a cottage, likely dating to 1657. It is constructed with a timber frame, now rendered with lath and plaster, and has a long straw thatched roof, half-hipped in form. A distinctive red brick ridge stack, composed of diagonally-set shafts, rises from the roof. The building has a single-room range and a four-bay plan, incorporating a lobby-entry. It comprises one storey and an attic, with three gable dormers. Four casement windows are present, two featuring leaded lights. A two-panelled door leads to the lobby.

Inside, a main beam in one room bears inscriptions indicating years: ‘18 Day of February 1657’, ‘1656’, and ‘WM 1712’. Abutting inglework hearths are also present. An inserted ceiling divides the west end of the cottage. The roof is of the side purlin type. The ceiling displays an ogee-moulded stop chamfer to the main beam. This cottage, along with others on the north side of the High Street, represents an encroachment onto the Green, likely begun around 1650.