Office And Workshop Of F Sparrow And Sons (Builders) Limited, 20 Metres South West Of Number 101 High Street

The building known as the office and workshop of F. Sparrow and Sons (Builders) Limited is located 20 meters south-west of number 101 High Street in Needham Market. It was constructed around 1520 to 1550, originally serving as a stable or possibly a barn, and was certainly in use as a stable by around 1800 when alterations were made. The structure is built of red brick in English bond, featuring splayed offsets at one third and two thirds of its height. The south wall was entirely rebuilt around 1800 in red brick using Flemish bond, and it may have been timber-framed prior to that.

The roof, dating from the 19th century, was likely originally slated but is currently covered with asbestos-cement slates. The building measures approximately 20 meters long and 8 meters wide. On the north side, at the first storey level, there is a row of three blocked cross-slits with splayed inner reveals, and additional slits are located in the gables. A small-pane sash window from around 1800 is positioned at the center of the north wall, framed with stucco. There are two early or original stable doorways on the north side, both featuring oak lintels; one doorway has a 16th-century lapped oak plank door, while the other has a boarded door from around 1800.

On the south side, there is an arcade from around 1800 consisting of six shallow blind arches with gauged brick heads, some of which contain original semi-circular windows, and one has a 20th-century doorway. Inside, two original tie-beams are slightly cambered and supported by massive knee-braces and wall-posts on the north side, indicating the presence of an original queen-post roof that was completely removed in the 19th century. An upper floor, featuring heavy binding beams and square unchamfered joists, is likely a 17th-century addition. At the west end of the building, there is a smaller and narrower range that contains offices; this section has been almost entirely rebuilt in 19th and 20th-century red brick, although small sections of 16th-century brickwork at the east end suggest a 16th-century core.