1-4, Church Street

The cottages at 1-4 Church Street comprise an early to mid-16th century house, with earlier fabric to the left, likely incorporating elements from a bequest to the parish by William Redham in 1553. The building served as the parish poor house in the 17th century and was later converted into almshouses in the 18th century. Three of the dwellings are now in private ownership. The structure is timber-framed, having a front wall rebuilt in red brick in the mid-18th century, with the remainder rendered. The roof is covered in concrete pantiles. The main block is two storeys and attic, with a one-and-a-half-storey earlier section to the left and a one-and-a-half-storey, one-storey in-line addition to the right. The upper floor has a range of four 18th-century two-light casement windows with diamond-leaded panes. Around 1900, two-light windows – each light with a single horizontal glazing bar and set under segmental arches – were added to the ground floor. The one-and-a-half-storey sections each have one raking dormer with windows matching those on the ground floor. There are five doorways, all fitted with semi-glazed boarded doors. An old stack is set against the rear wall; the shaft has been partly rebuilt and enlarged, with two other stacks likely being 18th-century additions. The interior of the main range features heavy studding and reversed braces, completely exposed in No. 4. There are heavy tie beam braces. Ceiling joists are chamfered in No. 4, while Nos. 2 & 3 have fully roll-moulded bridging beams, with the joists subsequently plastered over. An open fireplace, largely within No. 3, has been added later. A staircase is found at the rear of No. 4, leading to the attic. The roof is a clasped purlin roof with arched wind bracing. The earlier work to the left retains good close studding and remnants of a diamond-mullioned gable window. It is also notable for its original stair trimming and a clasped purlin roof.