The Tudor Tavern

The Tudor Tavern is an early 15th century timber-framed range of buildings located on George Street, with a slightly older range facing Verulam Road. The front on George Street features a wavy roofline with a very high-pitched tiled roof, supported by a massive, moulded beam that overhangs the first floor. The lower section has close studding below a half rail, while the upper section has more open studding, with plaster filling. There are four large casement windows with two and three lights (one modern, the others leaded from the 17th century), interspersed with five smaller two-light casement windows above an upper rail. Notably, the third window from the left is an original 15th century wood-framed window with two cusped, pointed, leaded lights. The ground floor has been renewed with continuous small-paned glazing and imitation plaster-filled studding below.

On the Verulam Road side, the left section shows the gable end of the George Street range, which is plastered and blank except for a tiny attic window that is flush framed with glazing bars. The right section, dating from around 1400, features a first-floor hall with a 16-light and a 13-light leaded casement window. The ground floor has a partly-glazed modern door situated between reproduction shop windows with glazing bars. Inside, there is little visible early work on the ground floor, but a very large crown-post open roof truss is preserved on the first floor. Nos 18 to 28 form a group.