Church Gate House

This is an early 16th-century guildhall, extended in the 17th and 18th centuries to form a house. It is timber-framed, with plaster infill and a roof of handmade red plain tiles. Originally aligned north-east to south-west and likely situated within the churchyard, the building now has an L-shaped plan. A two-bay extension, dating to the 17th century, sits to the south-east of the original structure, featuring a central stack at its south-west end. An 18th-century extension runs along the right side of the original range, with a single-bay addition beyond.

The front elevation has a three-window range of tripartite sash windows. A four-panel door is set within a 20th-century lean-to porch, which also features a round window with radial tracery. The left return, facing the churchyard, displays 18th-century patterned plasterwork, including lateral chevrons in panels and a band of incomplete incised scrolled foliage at first-floor level.

The original core of the building is unusually narrow, measuring approximately 3.5 metres in width. It contains jowled posts, heavy studding, an edge-halved and bridled scarf in the left wallplate, cambered tiebeams with mortices for crownposts (which are now absent), and some remaining sections of the right wallplate and studding. Originally, this range featured a jetty at the front, but the upper storey has been recessed to align with the lower. Unglazed window openings and shutter grooves are visible in the left wall, and original mullions were removed from the lower window, while a blocked upper window may have once had mullions. Inside, there are chamfered spine beams with run-out stops and plain joists of substantial size.

The lack of weathering on the right side indicates that it has always been protected by an adjoining structure, in the same location as the present 17th-century extension. The structure of this 17th-century range is largely concealed by plaster, with the axial beam boxed in. An older photograph, owned by the current proprietor, shows the round window, now located in the porch, was originally situated on the front of the upper storey of the 17th-century range.

Historical records indicate a Corpus Christi guild existed, mentioned in the 1524 Lay Subsidy returns and Chantry Certificate. In 1548, the Crown granted land and the “Gilde Howse” to Thomas Goldyng and Walter Ely.