153, Southgate Street

No. 153 Southgate Street is a house dating from the 16th century, which underwent significant alterations in the 1960s when a two-storey rear extension was added. The building features a timber frame with a jettied upper storey, where the timbers are exposed, while the lower part is rendered. It has an old plaintiled roof and stands two storeys high, with a cellar and attics.

The exterior includes a two-window range on the first storey, featuring 12-pane sash windows in flush cased frames. The ground storey has one 12-pane sash window and one tripartite sash window with diminished side lights, which replaced earlier small-paned early 19th-century shop windows. A gabled dormer with plain bargeboards contains a 20th-century two-light standard casement window. The entrance door, which is recessed, is located on the right side of the building.

Inside, the cellar is divided into two sections by an old partition wall, which includes a low shallow-arched 15th-century stone doorway and several niches in the walls. At the north end, there is the supporting base of a chimney-stack shared with No. 154. The timber frame is in two bays, with exposed ceiling timbers and some studding on the ground storey. Two main ceiling beams, which are re-used and feature ogee mouldings, have housings for joists that run parallel to the front. The current joists are plain and unchamfered, set at right angles to the front to form the jetty. In the south end wall, a beam with roll-moulding has long mortices for arched braces that do not align with its current position. The chimney-stack is made of Tudor brick and has a shallow 19th-century brick arch. Some studding is exposed on the first storey, along with a reset three-light mullioned window on the rear wall. The attics are fully plastered.