55, West Street

This is a house dating from the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with later alterations. Originally a hall house, it was extended in the late 16th and early 17th centuries with a north wing, incorporating a new stack and floor into the original hall. An 18th-century single-storey kitchen extension was added to the south, and it later served as a post office in the 19th century. It is timber-framed with brick sills, visible only at the north end, and is roughcast with steep, old red tile roofs. The long, two-storey and cellar house faces west, set back from the road, with a higher two-storey north crosswing, which juts out along the north side. The house was originally an open hall with a south service end extending over a cross-passage (with the eastern doorway still in use) and a parlour bay to the north. A lobby entrance was created when the parlour bay was filled with a large internal chimney and a new north parlour wing was added. A large chimney was built against the jettied north side of the wing, likely around 1700, and later served as a smithy. The west front features a gabled wing to the north, with three windows to each floor. The windows are flush three-light casements, smaller on the first floor under the eaves and larger on the ground floor. A battened door is positioned opposite the chimney, and there are three-light casements on each floor of the crosswing. A very large south gable chimney is attached to the kitchen extension and a longer single-storey extension set back. The kitchen has a purlin roof and heavy wallplates. The jettied north side of the crosswing features close-studded work on the ground floor, with a three-light, ovolo-moulded window. Bull-nosed joists and a similar blocked window are on the first floor, with more widely spaced studs. Curved braces mark the two bays of the crosswing. The large north-side chimney is constructed of red brick in English bond, with some crow-steps remaining on the east side. A squint-butted scarf is visible in the bressumer. The hall range has a clasped purlin roof with wind-braces, and an intermediate truss is located 1 meter from the south end of the original building.