56/57, CHURCH ROAD

No 56/57 is a house, originally two houses, dating from the late 16th century, which was extended and re-faced in the late 19th century. The building is timber framed and clad with red brick, featuring a thatched roof with black-glazed pantiles on the rear outshut. It stands two storeys tall and has a three-window range. There is a brick plinth course and the brickwork is laid in Flemish bond with burnt headers.

The south front has brick corner pilasters and a third pilaster in the centre. At the west end, there is a late 19th-century half-glazed door set under a cambered skewback arch, with a blocked window immediately to the right. To the right of this door, there is another late 19th-century half-glazed door, flanked by a three-light 20th-century metal casement window to the left and a similar two-light casement window to the right, both under soldier arches. The first floor features one two-light and two three-light 20th-century metal casement windows. The gabled roof has a ridge stack located to the left of centre.

The west gable end is lit by one three-light 20th-century metal casement window on each floor. The full-length single-storey rear outshut is illuminated by five 20th-century metal casement windows and has a 20th-century half-glazed door on the right. There are two 19th-century stacks.

Inside, the timber frame consists of heavy scantling, with arched braces rising from the middle rail and wall plate to the principal studs at the east end. The interior features chamfered bridging beams and joists, and one cambered tie beam remains with a pair of truncated queen posts of rectangular section. The remainder of the roof was replaced in the 19th century. A 20th-century staircase has been inserted in front of the right-hand facade doorway. There are wide fireplace openings to the east and west of the stack on the ground floor.