The Swan (Including Attached Outbuildings)

The Swan is a Grade II* listed public house on the west side of Hoxne Low Street. It comprises an early 16th-century timber-framed 2-cell end-chimney hall range with a mid-16th-century parlour addition to the south, which has a higher roof ridge. Early 18th-century alterations were made to the building.

The facade is cased in early 18th-century colourwashed brick with a coved eaves cornice. The south gable end is similarly finished with tumbling and a crowstepped gable. To the rear, good exposed studding with original herringbone brick nogging is visible, now colourwashed. The roof is plain-tiled. The building is 2 storeys with a 7-bay facade, of which bays 1 and 3 are blind. Late 19th-century cross windows with red brick segmental arches light the facade. A doorway in cross-entry position contains a 19th-century 4-panel door, with a further blind panel above. A heavy square stack stands at the junction of the hall and parlour, with its upper portion rebuilt. A small gable stack is positioned to the north.

Much 16th-century work remains visible to the rear. Behind the stack is a small gabled wing, probably for the original stair, with exposed studs and brick nogging; the gable end had a jettied upper floor. Against the lower end of the hall is a fine gabled porch, added at a slightly later date, also displaying good studding and brick nogging. The ground floor of this section was originally open on 3 sides, each side with long braces meeting at the centre. At the gable end the upper floor was jettied, with further overhangs at tie beam and collar level. The porch contains many moulded components and evidence for a projecting first floor window. Between the stair wing and porch is an early 18th-century colourwashed brick gabled addition with an original sash window. The lower parts of all three are obscured by 19th- and 20th-century work. A further rear gabled addition, perhaps from the 17th century, is set against the parlour. Attached to this are 3 outbuildings, probably from the 18th century, positioned at right angles to each other, with crowstepping to the road front. All are of colourwashed brick with pantiled roofs.

Internally, the hall has a fine ceiling with fully-moulded cross-beams and closely-spaced moulded joists. The hall chamber open truss has long shallow tie beam braces with a simple cavetto mould. The porch attached to this section has double ogee moulded joists to the ground floor ceiling. The first floor ceiling was steeply-cambered and fully moulded, with a ridge piece, though most is now concealed and the joists are lost. The parlour addition is wider than the hall range, the extra width forming a rear side passage. The existence of a 16th-century side passage suggests the building was already an inn at this date. The parlour has moulded cross-beams and a dragon beam, evidence that the front and gable end of this section were once jettied. The parlour chamber ceiling has 2 chamfered bridging beams intersecting with moulded axial beams and moulded joists, possibly re-used. The first floor room in the former stair wing has a stuccoed fireplace over which is an early 18th-century plaster cartouche: the central oval tablet depicts a Resurrection scene and above is a coat of arms which contained the sacred monogram IHS. This room is likely to have been a private chapel for a Roman Catholic family. 4-centre arched doorways with original moulded doors are present. Two doorways into bedrooms over the hall have 17th-century fretted overlights. Fine queen-post roofs cover both phases, the later end lacking collar braces.