Shakespeare House

Shakespeare House is a late 15th-century hall house, originally on an L-shaped plan, subsequently used as a public house and now offices. The building's red brick exterior largely dates to the late 18th century, with a further brown brick skin added to the northern part in the early 19th century when the front was built out. The original 15th-century fabric consists of brick with timber partitioning.

The facade is divided into two parts. The single-bay southern section, dating to the late 18th century, stands on the original wall plane and extends over two storeys. It features a restored five-light mullioned ground-floor window. The first floor has a late 18th-century sash window with glazing bars and a gauged skewback arch, with a blind panel concealing the roof above. The northern part projects forward. Formerly two storeys in height, it now appears as two storeys. A central carriage entrance leads through a timber-framed passageway to the rear. A doorway has been cut through to the street in the south. The original entrance now leads to a staircase hall at the rear. Flanking the passageway are two three-light cross casements, the northern one being smaller. There are two 20th-century casements to the first floor. The gabled roof has three dormer windows. A stack emerges through the front roof slope towards the south end. The carriage passageway is covered by a two-storey gabled cross wing that overlooks a small courtyard. The hall range extends to form the south side of this courtyard. A six-light ovolo-mullioned transomed hall window is present on the ground floor with a King mullion, the majority of which is blocked. One mid-18th-century flush-frame sash window with glazing bars is located to the left, with another similar window above. Other 20th-century windows are scattered throughout.

The ground floor front has a heavy chamfered bridging beam with mortices for arched braces and closely spaced joists. The remainder of the ground floor contains few original features. An inserted staircase leads to the first floor. A tie beam supports a single octagonal crown post with moulded base and capital. The crown purlin is missing, but had braces to the crown post. No mortice holes for braces to the collar have been identified. The front roof is a 20th-century replica of a clasped purlin structure. The roof of the hall range is inaccessible.