NUMBERS 156 (CHAMBERS ), 158 (DORMERS) AND 160 (GABLES)

Three cottages on the south-east side of Kelvedon High Street, formerly a single house. The building is Grade II* listed and dates from the 14th century, with alterations made in the 17th, 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed of timber frame, plastered and roofed with handmade red plain tiles.

The structure comprises several interconnected sections. A 2-bay hall range faces north-west with a central stack. To its left is a 3-bay parlour or solar crosswing with a 19th-century stack in the middle bay, behind which is a separate 2-bay extension from the 14th or 15th century, jettied to the right. To the right is a 3-bay service crosswing with a 16th or 17th-century stack to the rear, beyond which is an 18th-century single-storey extension with an external stack to the left and small 19th-century extensions at its end. A 16th or 17th-century one-bay extension stands to the right of the front bay of the service crosswing, with a 16th or 17th-century stack at the junction. A catslide extension projects to the rear of the left bay of the hall range, and a 20th-century flat-roofed single-storey extension extends behind the right bay. The crosswings and their extensions are 2 storeys high; the hall range is one storey with attics.

The building is now divided into three separate dwellings. Number 160 (Gables) comprises the left crosswing and its rear extension, jettied to the street with a 20th-century bow window and two 20th-century brackets below, and a 19th-century casement above. A door is set in the left return. Number 158 (Dormers) comprises the hall range and its rear extensions, with one early 19th-century sash window of 10+10 lights and one early 19th-century splayed bay of sashes of 12 lights. Two 19th-century casements sit in gabled dormers, and a 20th-century door has been added. Number 156 (Chambers) comprises the right crosswing and its extensions, featuring an underbuilt jetty and a 19th-century splayed bay of sashes of 12 lights, with an early 19th-century sash of 16 lights on the first floor. A 6-panel door with glazed top two panels and moulded architrave provides access.

The left return of number 160 has two 19th-century horizontal sashes of 8+12 lights with handmade glass on the ground floor; two further 19th-century horizontal sashes of 6+6 lights sit in the right elevation of its rear extension.

The left crosswing retains important early framing features. The jetty plate shows mortices for moulded mullions and a groove for sliding shutters. Two braces, measuring 0.18 metre and (in the missing example) an estimated similar thickness, spring to the binding beam. Braces of 0.11 and 0.14 metres thick support the cambered tiebeams. Jowled posts are present; splayed and undersquinted scarfs appear in both wallplates. A blocked stair trap survives at the right side of the middle bay. The right wall contains a blocked doorway to the hall, 1.30 metres wide with half of a 2-centred doorhead. Visible in number 158, this doorway features display bracing of curved W form and mortices for a former dais—a rare feature. The rear wall preserves an original doorway and curved display bracing trenched outside the studs. An original crownpost roof of steep pitch crowns the range, with axial braces 0.09 metre wide and wattle and daub infill in both gables.

The rear extension is a separate structure, featuring open trusses at the front and in the middle. All four braces to the binding beams measure 0.09 metres wide. Chamfered joists of horizontal section with plain stops are arranged transversely for the jetty. Three of four similar braces support the tiebeams. The heavy sill of a former oriel window is visible on the right, above the jetty. A complete crownpost roof, similar to that of the crosswing but of normal tile pitch, covers this section.

The hall range has been substantially rebuilt in the 17th century. Its front wall follows the line of the original medieval hall front and may incorporate 14th-century framing, but the rear wall has been rebuilt inset from the original line, cutting into the blocked doorway to the left (parlour) crosswing. A wood-burning hearth faces left, with a chamfered mantel beam of original work and rebuilt brick jambs. A 20th-century grate faces right. The roof comprises smoke-blackened medieval rafters pegged at the apices with unsooted pegs.

The right crosswing features a jetty plate rebated for internal shutters. The left wall contains one of a former pair of blocked service doorways, 1.14 metres wide and 1.78 metres high, with a double ogee doorhead chamfered on the hall side. The doorpost between is rebated for two doors. Braces 0.14 metres wide support the tiebeams. The frame is largely plastered over. The roof is not accessible for inspection but is presumed similar to that of the left crosswing. An early 17th-century inserted floor occupies the rear part of the crosswing, featuring a chamfered beam with lamb's tongue stops and plain joists of vertical section. The rear stack has a wide wood-burning hearth reduced to accommodate a 20th-century grate. The right stack features a wide wood-burning hearth facing left, converted to form a 20th-century grate with recessed cupboards with arched heads to each side. The right extension has plain joists of horizontal section arranged longitudinally.