True'S Yard

This is a pair of two-storey fishermen's cottages dating from the 18th century, with 19th-century window replacements, and restored in the late 20th century. The cottages are located within True's Yard in King's Lynn, a rare survival of a working-class housing complex that recalls the town's historic fishing industry.

The cottages are constructed of brick laid in English bond, with the facade painted, and have a pantile roof, brick kneelers and copings to the gable ends, and a central stack. Each cottage retains a single room per floor. The front facade features corbelling to the corners and two timber-battened entrance doors with flat hoods and carved brackets. Each cottage has one, flush six-over-six sash window with horns at ground floor and a six-light casement at first floor. There are no windows on the side or rear elevations. The rear brick wall sits upon a substantial section of coursed stone walling, possibly from an earlier building.

Internally, original features remain, including timber battened doors with matching furniture, built-in cupboards, and pamment flooring on the ground floor of the left-hand cottage, which also retains its 19th-century stove. Both cottages retain their original plan form, with a single room on each floor and a narrow winder staircase to the rear of the stack.

A conveyance of 1818 documents the sale of the yard, including these six cottages, to William True. Four of the original cottages were demolished in the 1930s, and the buildings were uninhabited by the 1960s. Restoration to their 18th and 19th-century appearance took place in 1989. The cottages are designated at Grade II for their rarity as a surviving working-class complex, the retention of historic fabric and fittings, their intact internal layout, and their association with King's Lynn's important fishing heritage; they also contribute to the group value of adjoining buildings.