46 And 48, Castle Street

The buildings at 46 and 48 Castle Street are two houses with a complex history, dating back to the 16th century, with later additions and alterations in the early 19th century, the 20th century, and more recently. The rear of the properties were extended in the 18th century.

The north front presents a three-bay red brick façade with a peg-tiled roof and gable-end stacks, built around 1946 and altered in 1986 to appear as a single house. A central street door, which actually leads to an open passageway between the two units, is sheltered by a cornice hood with an overlight; the door itself is of six panels, with a wide concrete lintel accommodating the original two doorways. The windows, once sashes, are now casements with glazing bars: the ground and first floors have 4x4 panes, while the second floor has two-light windows with 4x3 panes. Two cellar windows have been blocked in at No.46.

The south elevation, at the rear of the properties, is timber-framed and plastered, with 20th-century casement windows. At No.46, there is a three-light window with six panes on the first floor, and a two-light window with four panes on the second floor. A central passageway on the ground floor has horizontal bead-moulded boarding. Two mono-pitch lean-to additions, slated and dating to the early 19th century, are set to the west side of No.46. To the east (No.48) are two similar lean-tos, originally from the 19th century but refurbished in the 20th century with pargetting and clay tiles. The east side has a door with upper glazing (2x3 panes) flanked by sash windows (3x4 and 2x3 panes). The south end features a boarded stable door and a bay window of double sashes.

Internally, No.46 reveals outer timber framing relating to what was a small medieval house, continuing the construction seen in the adjacent properties at 44 and 42. Features visible include jowled posts, wall plates, a stud-braced rear wall, wattle grooves, a mortise for an axial floor joist, and a wall plate under the first-floor window. At No.48, remnants of a small open hall bay remain, possibly associated with No.50. Surviving elements include corner posts and partition framing, a central open truss, a front principal post with a mortice for a brace, and a rear wall plate with a dovetail joint. An east-end frame shared with No.50 shows peg holes, likely for a 17th-century weaving (warping) frame.