2, Nelson Street

The building at 2 Nelson Street, King’s Lynn, is a timber-framed shop and house, originally constructed between 1540 and 1550. It occupies a site previously associated with St Margaret's Priory, which was cleared during the Reformation. The building is constructed on a curved site. The south side has a plain tiled roof, while the north side has a slate roof, reflecting differing roof heights. The building is two storeys high with a dormer attic. A panelled door provides access to number 4. Further doors are present on the west elevation, along with sash windows with glazing bars. A deep plastered jetty runs along the front. A moulded dragon post is visible on the north-west corner, behind which is a 16th-century timber panel featuring carved figures, possibly depicting the Annunciation. The jetty continues along the north return above the former public house façade, featuring five pilaster strips with a sealed doorway and casements. The first floor windows are sash windows with glazing bars, and towards the north end, there is a four-light diamond-mullioned timber window with a King mullion. The south roof is gabled, and the north roof is hipped, with two gabled dormers on the south side. A ridge stack is located between the two roof sections. A 20th-century brick stack is present on the line of the east (rear) wall at the north end. The rear of the building has whitewashed brick on the ground floor and heavy timber studs on the first floor. It features arched braces and brick nogging, along with various casements and sashes.

Internally, the main ground-floor room (to the north and west) contains two large, plain bridging beams running north-south, obliquely scarf-jointed. A square dragon beam is located in the north-west corner. The west wall preserves three blocked openings to a shop arcade, created by knuckle braces between principal studs and a middle rail. Additional panels are defined by secondary studs above the middle rail. The arcade openings have rebated jambs for shutters, and the upper panels above the outer two openings are also rebated for shutters. Two hinge posts survive to the right of the arcade, indicating a former door location. It is believed the arcade originally extended to the south end of the façade. The first floor features widely spaced studs. The roof over the north part of the house extends as far south as the ridge stack has been replaced. The roof to the south end was rebuilt on a higher line, explaining the differing heights seen externally. Some original principal rafters remain, but rebuilding and the reuse of timber prevent a complete identification of the roof type.