The Old Bell House (On South Corner With Hare Street Road)

The Old Bell House is a house located on the south corner with Hare Street Road, dating from the early 16th century. It originally featured a crosswing at the north, which was incorporated into a mid-17th century rebuilding of the hall range that included a stair turret and a rear kitchen. The southern end of the house was extended in the 18th century for use as an inn. The building was restored in 1975 and is constructed with a timber frame on a brick sill, roughcast, and topped with steep old red tile roofs.

This two-storey house has a three-cell layout and an internal chimney, with a lobby entry plan facing east on a corner site. The southern extension is two bays high but has different floor levels, and there is a two-storey rear kitchen wing featuring a large external gable chimney. A hipped roof shallow stair turret is located behind the stack of the main range. The chimney is positioned a third of the way from the north end, with a parlour situated at the north. The frame of the lower 16th-century crosswing was fully exposed up to the wall plates during the 1975 restoration and was heightened in the 17th century as part of the overall rebuild.

The east front of the house has four windows on each floor, featuring three-light flush casement windows, with a canted oriel window to the left of the door. Inside, there are axial beams, with a stair rising from the parlour at the north, and a smaller stair in the kitchen wing leading to a chamber above and to the hall range chambers. The southern part of the house, built in the 18th century, includes a high room over a semi-basement, likely used as a cellar. The property was formerly known as The Bell Public House.