Ridleys

Ridleys is a shop with offices above, dating from around 1700. It occupies a site with a history of involvement by the Ridley family extending back 400 years. The building is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond, distinguished by its blue headers, and has plaintiled roofs with a modillion eaves cornice.

The Abbeygate Street frontage features two storeys, attics, and cellars, with a main range and two rear wings, one of which extends along Angel Lane. The upper storey has four small-paned sash windows, alongside an Edwardian French door opening onto a balcony with Edwardian wrought-iron railings. Three flat-headed dormers, each with a lead roof and cheeks, incorporate two-light casement windows. The early 19th century shop fronts, now linked, are particularly noteworthy. The former No. 35 has two square, small-paned windows and a central entrance, topped by a continuous dentil cornice and panelled fascia boards. The former No. 36 is distinguished by a small-paned bow window and a side entrance with steps and a curved wrought-iron rail. The Angel Lane frontage closely resembles the facade of No. 25 Abbeygate Street, featuring eight original window openings with gauged heads to the upper storey; two are blocked, two have late 19th-century small-paned sash windows in cased frames, and four are cross windows. One flat-headed dormer with a lead roof and cheeks is present. The ground storey displays four sash windows, two blocked doorways, and two doors, one featuring six raised fielded panels and a rectangular fanlight.

The cellars run beneath the main front range and both rear wings. The original walling is a mix of rubble flint, Tudor brick, and some reused stone blocks, although some 19th-century brick walls have been introduced. The interior features massive 16th-century ceiling-beams, with stop-chamfered spine beams with run-out stops. Modern joists have replaced the originals. In the western front bay, a dragon beam is in situ, extending to the former south-west corner, though no corresponding structure remains above. The brickwork of an angle fireplace relating to the Angel Lane range has been exposed on the ground storey, and several ceiling-beams are visible on the upper storey. The roofs throughout are of a late clasped purlin type, constructed without principals or a ridge-piece, and incorporating some reused components. Attics were historically used as dormitories for shop assistants, and remnants of 17th and 18th century balusters from former stairs remain.