The Countryman Public House (Opposite Chipping Hall)

The Countryman Public House, located opposite Chipping Hall, is a building that originally served as a house, dating from the 16th or early 17th century. It features a mid to late 17th century interior chimney and an inserted floor in the central part. The southern section of the building was rebuilt in the early 18th century, likely when it was sold in 1719 as the Red Lion Public House to Mr. Beale. The northern part was also rebuilt in the 18th century, and the west and south sides of the building are cased in brick. A gable was added to the northern part, probably when adjoining cottages were cleared in 1913. The name of the establishment was changed in the later 20th century.

The building has a timber frame that is roughcast, although the western front and southern end are cased in painted brick. It has a steeply pitched roof with a rear outshut, which was thatched according to a drawing from 1841 but is now slated. There is a gabled tiled porch. The structure is two storeys high with three cells and an internal chimney plan, facing west with a shorter rear outshut. The chimney is located a third of the way from the southern end, and the northern part has higher floor levels with a 19th century external gable chimney.

The west front features a two-bay middle part entered at the northern end, with back-to-back fireplaces in the stack. There are three windows on the west front, which include paired recessed ground floor sash windows joined under segmental arches, and two-light casement windows above, all with small panes. The glazed gabled porch has a high brick sill, and there is a single-storey flat-roofed small block against the northern gable.

Inside, the building has exposed timbers, including jowled posts, cut away curved braces on the first floor, and straight tension braces in the rear wall. The ground floor features chamfered axial beams and squared joists, with heavy studs in the partition wall and a sill-plate in the middle part, along with a later cross-beam in the higher northern part. A notable feature is the good, chamfered, three-centred arched late 17th century red brick fireplace in the upper room at the southern end. The lintel above the open fireplace in the bar is said to have been inscribed with the date '1743', but it has recently been carved with the date '1663' in relief.