The Cricketers Public House

The Cricketers Public House, West Street, Coggeshall

A market-hall, now operating as a public house, of late 14th-century origin with significant alterations made in the late 18th and 19th centuries. The building is timber-framed and plastered, with a late 18th-century facade of red brick in Flemish bond, and roofed with handmade red plain tiles.

The main structure is built to a square plan with its entrance facing east and contains two 18th- to 19th-century internal chimney stacks. An original wing extends to the west, formerly serving as a stair-tower. An early 19th-century wing projects to the south. A 19th-century single-storey extension with a hipped slate roof connects these wings and includes a 19th-century chimney stack, completing a rectangular overall plan. A 19th-century single-storey square ancillary building to the south has a pyramidal slate roof with a short connecting link to the main house. A 20th-century single-storey extension extends to the west.

The building rises two storeys. The north elevation facing West Street features, on the ground floor, two late 18th-century sashes of 12 lights with segmental-flat arches of gauged brick and crown glass, along with two bricked-up window apertures. The first floor has four similar sashes. A plain band runs above the first-floor windows, with a plain parapet returning to the right, overlaying the roof tiles. The east elevation repeats this facade but is plastered, incorporating a large late 19th-century 2-light window and Ionic pilasters, with panels below the windows, a plain fascia and moulded shallow canopy. The ground floor has one early 19th-century sash of 16 lights, whilst the first floor has two late 18th-century sashes of 12 lights. A simple 18th- to early 19th-century doorcase with plain overlight and shallow flat canopy is present, surmounted by a band and parapet. The south elevation of the south wing contains one similar sash on the first floor, and the west elevation of the hipped extension contains one similar sash, possibly re-set. The roof of the main building has a short ridge with gablet hips to east and west.

Internally, the building displays characteristic late medieval timber-framed construction. An underbuilt jetty is visible to the north of the main building and stair tower. Massive wallposts occupy the middle of the east and west walls, tapering towards the top and unjowled. The east post has been mutilated by an inserted stack; the west post measures 0.44 by 0.36 metres near its base and is heavily weathered on its western face. A hollow-chamfered axial beam spans between these posts, featuring a mutilated fillet and one of two hollow-chamfered arched braces (the other truncated). Plain joists of horizontal section are jointed to the axial beam with central tenons and soffit spurs. The west wing contains similar joists framed round a blocked stair-trap. The rafters and gablet hips are original. A cambered central tiebeam retains mortices for a single crownpost and two curved down-braces.

The early 19th-century stair in the south wing features turned newels, a wreathed mahogany handrail, stick balusters and scrolled tread-ends, with a semi-elliptical coved ceiling. Two semi-elliptical arches are present on the first floor.

The building occupies the site of the medieval shambles or market-hall. Historical records indicate that the Manor Court for Great Coggeshall was held "at the shambles in the market-place". The business premises here, known as the Old Hall in 1775, belonged to the Manor of Great Coggeshall and stood on or near the site occupied by the Cricketers Inn. This represents an important survival of Essex's lost market-hall buildings.