53 And 57, Crib Street

This is a 17th-century house in Ware, later subdivided into two dwellings at numbers 53 and 57 Crib Street. Number 57 appears on Ordnance Survey maps as number 55. The house has undergone early 20th-century rebuilding. It is timber-framed, with a colourwashed pebbledashed plaster front over 20th-century brickwork, and an old tiled roof. Timber studwork is exposed in the right-hand (north) gable end. The house has two storeys, with four wooden casement windows with leaded glazing on the first floor, and two on the ground floor. Two round-arched doorways with recessed early 20th-century doors—the upper parts glazed with bars and small panes—provide access to the front. A central tunnel leads to the rear of the properties. Mid-20th-century flat-roofed extensions (on number 57) and a lean-to extension (on number 53) protrude at the rear. The interior features Edwardian staircases and fireplaces, and was remodelled in the 20th century. The building is included for its group value.