21 23, High Street

Nos. 21 and 23 High Street, Ware

This is a single building, formerly an inn and now commercial premises, comprising two properties. It dates from the 17th century but was heightened and refronted in the early 18th century, with alterations in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The building has a timber front with stucco finish and a concrete plain tiled roof with modillioned cornice. It rises three storeys with plat bands at floor levels, divided into eight bays. The eight sash windows are flush set with exposed boxes and moulded architraves. The first floor windows to No. 21 (the four bays on the left) are 19th-century work with divided glazing and horns to the upper sashes. The second floor windows, and those to the first floor of No. 23 (the four bays on the right), retain their original small-paned glazing, though one second floor window has been altered to a casement. No. 21 is marked by rustication at its left edge and above the centre of the ground floor, indicating subdivision into two properties in the 18th century.

A central elliptically arched carriageway with panelled pilasters, spandrels, moulded archivolt and keyblock provides access. Twin flush-panelled doors occupy the opening, with a wicket door in the left leaf. Both doors have ramped moulded top rails above which are plain stiles and rails that originally featured open panels between elliptical heads following the arch profile.

The entrance to No. 21 lies to the left, reached by six stone steps with 19th-century ornamental scrollwork railings. A moulded architrave with head interrupted by projecting voussoirs and keystone frames the doorway. An outer rusticated surround contains a pediment bearing an early 19th-century Sun Alliance fire insurance plate. The ground floor of No. 21 now has a modern bow-fronted display window with glazing bars between modern pilasters. To the right of the carriageway, No. 23 has a modern timber-framed display window. The carriageway itself has plastered sides above protective boarding and provides access to a rear yard.

No. 21 is accompanied by a three and two-storey timber-framed outshoot with plastered walls and flush-set sash and casement windows. A 19th-century extension features a jettied first floor. Tall red brick chimneystacks rise from the building. No. 23 has an extensive 19th-century yellow brick outshoot with plat band and brick dentil cornice, small-paned casement windows and a concrete pantiled roof.

Interior features of No. 21 include exposed 17th-century brickwork of a central chimney on the ground floor (partly rebuilt). The front rooms on the first floor contain early 18th-century moulded cornices, with modillions in the left-hand room. The rear room has an early 18th-century moulded dado and a fireplace with shouldered architrave surround and raised moulded shelf. The staircase from the first to second floors is early 18th-century work, with open well, newels, closed moulded string, moulded handrails and column-pattern balusters. A similar stair survives in part above the first floor of No. 23.

The roof over the front block is a queen strut roof with halved pegged rafters. A portion of 17th-century roof survives immediately to the rear of No. 23, indicating that the street frontage originally featured a gabled roof prior to the early 18th-century rebuilding.

The arrangement of the carriageway entrance, rear courtyard and position of the 18th-century staircases, which originally had direct entry from the rear yard, indicates this was historically an inn site, though its specific identity has not been determined.