The Guildhall

House, now offices and shop premises, dating to the late 16th century and built on the site of the hall of the Guild of St. Mary by Simon Pulham in 1564. It is two storeys and has attics. The building has a timber frame faced with red mathematical tiles, and a plaintiled roof. It comprises nine bays arranged as 3:3:3, with the central section projecting slightly. A parapet features turned balusters in front of the dormer windows and the central break, with a plastered band below. There are three dormers, each with a small-paned sash window and a moulded pediment; the two outer dormers are triangular, and the central one is segmental. Seven large-paned sash windows are set within flush frames on the first floor, each with gauged brick heads and keystones. Flanking the central projection are blank windows with ornate surrounds, including an enriched eared architrave and an open triangular pediment. On the ground floor, the western two-thirds of the facade has been altered with two mid-19th-century shop entrances and three large canted shop windows projecting from the building’s face. The eastern one-third, occupied by Messrs Turner & Ellerby, features a ground-floor entrance with steps and brickwork refacing. This eastern section is the only accessible part of the building, the rest being unoccupied. Inside, a small ground-floor room has raised fielded panelling. A dog-leg staircase has a plain handrail and metal twist balusters. On the first floor, a fine panelled room in the rear wing features double bolection-moulded panels and window shutters, two of which conceal secret drawers. The roof over the rear range has side purlins, while the remainder is plastered. Within the panelled ground-floor room and the room above it are semi-domed and semi-circular recessed cupboards built into the walls; one is made to revolve, and both have painted decoration and figures.