63 And 65, High Street

House now shop. 15th century, early 16th century, early 17th century, with 20th-century alterations. Timber-framed with 20th-century brick underpinning. 20th-century clay tile roof. L-plan of 2 storey units. No.65 is a long narrow timber range running back from the street and No.63 is parallel to the street to the east; only the first floor joists of No.63 were retained during rebuilding in 1973. Both now form a single premises of expanded rectangular plan.

The south front elevation shows the gable end of the long range projecting in front of the range parallel to the street. The ground floor is a 20th-century shop along the whole frontage with a doorway under the gabled projection. The first floor is rendered and colourwashed with a parapet; 20th-century casement windows are present in the gable end and in the range to the east.

Interior: The early range of No.65 comprises a 2-bayed 15th-century unit facing the street with heavy framing, jowled posts, and exterior tension bracing, probably originally jettied to the street. The first floor has a crown post roof—a post on the central partition truss with 2-way curved bracing and 2 shutter grooves for a large window in the gable to the street. Second double windows existed each side of the central post on the west side (with shutter grooves for each), one complete with 2 mullions and the other with 2 mullions cut away.

A 2-bayed unit of early 16th-century date is butted to the rear of the above unit. The ground floor has been cut away; the joists are still flat-sectioned but employ soffit tenons. The first floor has unjowled posts and exterior tension bracing. The south end, adjacent to the 15th-century unit, has open framing originally with arched bracing, demonstrating construction intended to continue along the length of the unit. The roof is a queen post, wind-braced side purlin roof, jettied along the east side with 2 complete 3-mullioned windows with shutter grooves on the east side, one in each bay. The north end frame has arched bracing suggesting another bay originally existed.

The range to the east dates from the early 17th century. A surviving ceiling/floor features a central bridging joist and slender deep-section common joists decorated with chamfer stops of a florid version of lamb's tongue with rear additional V nick.

Historical note: Although unassuming from the street, the building retains considerable constructional evidence. Study of the building by D.H. Scott established the earlier unit to be a cross-wing of a hall once located to the east. Paired ground-floor service doors were evident each side of the central post (now covered over) and a simple doorway interpreted as access from the hall to the stair trap. The service doors have frames with double hollow chamfers and heads of depressed four-centred arch form. The central post exhibits sooting on the east side, implying an open hall later replaced by a storied range. The rear jettied unit has 2 ground-floor studding gaps beneath the jetty in the south bay, interpreted as doorways, and a window shutter groove in the same wall in the north bay. Storage or industrial use was suggested for this extension to the service cross-wing. Evidence for shop use of the south ground-floor bay in the early cross-wing to the street was sought but not found.