Numbers 40 (Parsons), 40A, 42 And 44 Including Attached Outbuildings

Numbers 40 (Parsons), 40A, 42, and 44, including attached outbuildings, are a shop and three houses located on Needham Market High Street. The building has a core dating back to the 16th century, with significant alterations made around 1600 and in the mid-19th century. It is two storeys tall and features a three-cell lobby-entrance plan from around 1600, along with extended service and parlour ranges. The structure is timber-framed and rough-cast, topped with plaintiled roofs and axial chimneys made of red brick. The mid-19th century sash windows have large panes.

The main entrance doorway, currently used by No.42, has an eared architrave that is moulded and features a dentilled cornice in the 18th-century style, along with a mid-19th century four-panelled door. The shop area includes a 19th-century glazed panelled door and flanking windows. The front range primarily dates to around 1600, but the parlour cell on the left is a remodelling of a lower 16th-century building, which still has remnants of a crown-post roof and a complete blocked diamond-mullioned window.

To the rear right, there is a narrow 16th-century wing that jetties into the courtyard, although the jetty is concealed by 19th-century alterations. Parallel to the front range is a 16th-century building with five bays, which is in poor condition and has undergone significant mid-19th century alterations. This building is of interest due to its connection with the malting industry, as it was certainly in use for malting in the 19th century and may have been originally designed for this purpose. It features a fragmentary crown-post roof and good arch-braced close studwork, and it has been encased in flint with red brick dressings, with most of its roof replaced in the 19th century.

Behind the parlour cell, a wing was added around 1600, enclosing the fourth side of the courtyard. This wing has well-crafted ovolo-moulded framing and a heavy wind-braced butt-purlin roof. On the first storey, there is an unusual doorcase with an enriched frieze, console brackets, and Ionic pilasters, which may date to around 1600 but could have been reassembled from another feature, such as an overmantel. Additionally, there is a fine 18th-century corner cupboard in the parlour.