29, High Street

29 High Street is a house that has been converted into a bank, built around 1833 with later alterations from the late 19th and mid-20th centuries. It features a red brick front with a parapet topped by stone coping and a Welsh slated roof. The building has a slight setback to the left, which includes a carriageway under an elliptical arch with twin leaf gates. It stands three storeys high, with a plinth and broad painted plat bands at each floor level. The façade includes one-over-four sash windows with glazing bars set in reveals beneath rubbed flat arches.

There are five stone steps leading up to the entrance, which has 19th-century wrought-iron railings. The door is a six-fielded panelled design with a fanlight featuring radiating glazing bars in an arched panelled reveal. This is surrounded by Tuscan Doric pilasters and an entablature with a triglyph frieze and modillions. The ground floor has modern, mid-20th century multi-paned windows. At the rear, there is a large mid-20th century banking hall, which is not of special interest.

Historically, this building is located on the site of The George Inn, which was recorded in 1490 and served as one of the main inns in the town for several centuries. It housed 'The Great Bed of Ware' in the early 18th century and was visited by Isaak Walton, who mentioned it in The Compleat Angler. The inn was acquired by Robert Sworder, who demolished it around 1833 to construct the current house for John Sworder.