Goldsmiths House

Goldsmiths House is a house located on Northgate Street in Bury St Edmunds, originally divided into two properties. It dates from the 15th century and 17th century, with a single-storey extension added in the 19th century. The building is timber-framed and roughcast rendered, topped with a plaintiled roof.

The exterior features two storeys and attics. A gabled and jettied cross-wing on the north side includes a 20th-century small-paned two-light casement window in the upper storey and a small six-pane fixed window in the gable apex, beneath an exposed cambered collar-beam. The ground storey has a canted three-light bay with small-paned sash windows and an entrance door with four sunk panels in a plain wood surround. The jetty is supported by four small solid brackets. The adjoining range to the south is taller than the cross-wing and has a single two-light small-paned 20th-century casement window on each storey, along with similar windows in the gable end on the first storey and attic. There are two internal chimney-stacks.

Inside, the house retains exposed timbers. The cross-wing is arranged in four bays, originally associated with an open hall. An internal stack between the second and third bays features two back-to-back hearths on the ground storey, each with a timber lintel. The ground storey ceilings have rough unchamfered joists, with more closely spaced joists in the front jettied bay compared to the rest. The wallplates on the upper storey have been slightly raised, and the roof, which has clasped purlins, appears to be a later replacement. The south side of the house is from the 17th century, featuring typical straight primary braces and bisected studs. The ground storey ceiling has joists set on edge, and the internal spine wall displays panels of comb pargeting on the upper storey, indicating that this part of the house may have been raised and widened.