Ditches Close

Ditches Close is a house that dates from the late 15th century and mid 16th century, with repairs and alterations from the 17th century. By 1840, it had been divided into seven tenements, and there is an additional range at the rear. The building is timber-framed and plastered, with a thatched roof that is partly tiled. It features a tall red brick ridge stack with grouped diagonal shafts. The structure is U-shaped, consisting of two storeys and a one-storey attic, with a 20th-century wing to the south and a cross wing to the north that includes a 17th-century stack shared with the open hall, which has been reroofed and truncated. The entrance has a boarded door in a lobby entry position, and there are three ground floor windows, two attic windows, and one dormer window, with small casements or larger 20th-century windows. Inside, the cross wing has moulded cross beams, exposed floor frames, and a staircase located at the angle with the cross wing. Some reused rafters in the roof over the hall range are smoke blackened.