Bell Hill House

Bell Hill House

House with shop, latterly two dwellings. The building dates from the mid 16th century, was extended in the early 17th century, and underwent alterations in the late 17th century, circa 1900, and the 20th century. It is constructed of timber frame, plastered, with some red brick to the rear. The roofs are steeply pitched and plain tiled, with some pantiles to the rear.

The original structure was a small two-bay, two-storey house with a solar over the hall. No traces survive of the presumed external smoke hood and service lean-to. The building was extended to the left with a large stack and a two-bay parlour. Two further service bays were added to the right, with additional rear additions. The parlour section is two storeys with an attic.

The 16th century core is gable-fronted to the right of centre, featuring a ground floor four-light casement window and a first-floor two-light casement, both added in the 20th century. The stack bay to the left, added in the early 17th century, has a taller ridge at right angles with a large tapering chimney breast rising in front of the ridge. The chimney is broached and roll-moulded to four conjoined hexagonal shafts. The gable-fronted parlour further to the left has a ground floor entrance with a raised six-panelled door in a 19th-century doorcase with bracketed hood, a 20th-century four-light bow window on the first floor, two-light casements, pentice board, 19th-century brackets to exposed plates, and a gabled dormer on the outer return. The left end lean-to outshut is a surviving fragment of an originally separate 16th-century building.

Attached to the right of the 16th-century core is a two-bay late 17th-century service addition with shop. The ground floor features an early 19th-century bowed shop front with a central two-thirds glazed door, flanking twelve-light windows, panelled jambs and a fascia board. The first floor has two-light glazing bar casements. A one-storey 17th-century service outbuilding is attached to the rear.

The rear of the 16th-century core has a gableted half-hipped roof with two casements in the attic. A circa 1900 red brick bay is attached to the rear of the parlour, with an extruded stack on the outer return, pantiled roof, and a gable to the rear with an oculus in the attic. Behind the 16th-century core and stack bay are lean-to additions with an extruded stack.

Interior: The hall contains mortices for arched braces to a stop-chamfered cross axial binding beam, stop-chamfered joists including a trimmer for original stairs to the rear, close studding with a large tension brace to the rear, and rebated corner posts. The solar features semi-octagonal shafts on open truss posts and four-centred arched braces springing just below plate level to a raised tie beam tenoned into principals. A short square crown post has arched braces to a collar purlin with a splayed scarf joint with under-squinted abutments. To the front is a crown post; to the rear is a tie beam at plate level with queen posts and arched braces to plates and purlins, which rest on an open truss raised tie beam. From the rear truss collar, an angled strut in half hip contains an arched brace to the collar purlin. The solar also contains a small 17th-century cupboard. The 17th-century parlour features chamfered four-centred arched fireplaces and an ovolo-moulded cross axial binding beam. Stairs are located behind the stack. The parlour chamber has close studding, with two-light ovolo-mullioned window openings originally flanked by a larger window, arched braces to tie beams, and a bar stop-chamfered axial binding beam. The original attic has a butt purlin roof with collars to principals; two are set diagonally to allow access. The service addition features tension bracing and a jewel stop-chamfered cross axial binding beam. The 16th-century lean-to to the left has reverse-curved arched bracing.