55, Abbeygate Street

55 Abbeygate Street is a shop located in Bury St Edmunds, dating from the mid-19th century, with a core that dates back to around 1600. The building features a white brick front and a timber-framed core, topped with a shallow-pitched slate roof that has wide eaves and a mutule cornice.

The exterior consists of four storeys and a cellar, with two bays. It has a three-window range of late 19th century to early 20th century sashes, which lack glazing bars and have deep reveals, stucco heads, and stone sills. The shop front, added in the 20th century, includes a plain fascia and recessed double doors.

Inside, the cellar is faced with large irregular stone blocks along the rear wall and has several shallow arched recesses. The front wall features recesses with old brick arches. A heavy supporting main beam is chamfered and rests on stone blocks. On the ground storey, the timber ceiling is exposed, with main cross-beams that have been hacked back and plain, flat, closely-spaced joists. No timbers remain above the ground storey level. The roof was raised in the 19th century when the brick front was added.

This building is surrounded on its west side and rear by No. 56, and although it has been a separate property for nearly two centuries, it appears to have originally formed part of No. 56.