53, 53A, 55 AND 55A, HIGH STREET

No 53, 53A, 55 and 55A on High Street is a timber-framed building that dates from the early to mid 16th century, with alterations made in the 17th century and a refacing in the late 18th century. There are also extensions to the rear from the 19th century. The building is two storeys high with an attic and features a modern shop front and a rough cast first floor, along with a moulded cornice and blocking course. It has a steeply pitched old tile roof and three broadly spaced windows on the first floor, which include two casements and a sash, all set in flush architrave surrounds. There are three box dormers present. The timber frame structure is encased and consists of four bays with a jettied first floor that is concealed. The ground floor features chamfered oak beams and 17th-century moulded plaster work encasing the ceiling beams in No 55. The framework is exposed on the first floor, which was originally formed of two rooms spanned by open trusses, divided by a closed truss and a partition across the centre, supported by heavy curved braces. Attics were likely inserted in the late 17th century. The former rear wall retains a large window with diamond-set oak mullions. The building has a clasped roof with wind braces and a two-storey gabled rear wing that is probably from the 17th century.