Rear Wing Of Bank House

This rear wing, likely originally a guildhall, dates to the late 15th century and has undergone alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed with a timber frame, now plastered and partly bricked, and has a roof of handmade red clay tiles. Situated behind Bank House, it’s now divided into a first-floor flat, a ground-floor store, and the kitchen of Bank House.

The rear wing has six bays facing southwest. The ground floor incorporates the kitchen of Bank House in the two right bays, whilst the left bay houses the entrance and stairwell to the first-floor flat. The remaining four bays form the store and entrance. Originally, the southwest long side was jettied throughout, but it’s now underbuilt with modern red brick for slightly more than one bay at the left end. Adjacent to this is a bricked section that follows the original wall line; the left return wall and the entire rear wall are also bricked.

The building stands two storeys high, with four 20th-century casements on the ground floor and five on the first floor. A single 20th-century door is present, and a blocked original door with a four-centred head can be found at the right end. Inside, exposed beams and joists are visible in five of the six bays. Three plain brackets remain, with others missing. There are also two attached shafts of half-octagonal section with moulded and crenellated capitals.

Originally, the ground floor was divided into spaces of two, one, and three bays respectively, with one studded wall later removed. In the two right bays, the transverse and axial beams are moulded with a double-ogee profile and converging stops. In the three left bays, the transverse and axial beams are chamfered with step-stops. The remaining bay, only 2.20 metres long, lacks an axial beam and likely contained the original entrance stair; its transverse beam is moulded to the right and chamfered and stopped to the left. The upper storey is divided into two rooms of three bays each by an original studded partition. Evidence of edge-halved and bridled scarfs exists within the walls, and the roof is of crownpost construction with axial braces.

Historical records indicate that this building may have been the guildhall confiscated by the Crown in 1547, subsequently sold in 1549 and endowed as a school in 1584. Further mentions of the guildhall appear in an inquisition of 1611. Historical maps from 1876, 1896, and 1921 show the approximate site of a guildhall 25 metres to the southeast. There is some possible confusion with a "Town House" mentioned in churchwarden's minutes as being derelict and subsequently removed in the late 18th century, which was likely a post-medieval market building.