57 and 59, High Street

This is a timber-framed house and shop, built around 1500, located on the south side of High Street, Ashwell. Originally constructed as a hall for the Brotherhood or Guild of St. John the Baptist associated with the nearby Church of Blessed Mary of Ashwell, the building was formed in 1476. A similar bay was added to the left end in the late 16th century. The structure is timber-framed with exposed close studding on a jettied upper floor. The building has two storeys; the first floor features seven mid-19th century flush sash windows in moulded wooden frames, while the ground floor has four canted casement bays, with the right one a bracketed shop window. Two flush panel doors are present, with the right one being half-glazed. A blocked opening indicates the location of a former cross passage, to the left of which was a three-bay hall. A stack, potentially dating to the 17th or late 16th century, was inserted into the previously unheated hall.

The interior of the left-hand house (No. 57) reveals heavy, wide-chamfered floor beams. A cellar is present to the left, with walls constructed of clunch and brick. The interior of the former bakery (No. 61) displays a large clunch fireplace with a timber lintel. Within the hall, a four-centred wooden arch marks the former cross passage door. The building contributes significantly to the group value of the street.