11, Abbeygate Street

No. 11 Abbeygate Street is a former house and warehouse that has been converted into shop premises with store rooms above. It dates from the early 17th century, 18th century, and 19th century. The building is timber-framed and rendered, with a plaintile roof.

The exterior features two storeys, cellars, and attics. The facade has three projecting gables, each with plastered coving, a wooden cornice, and plain 19th-century bargeboards. Each gable has a 2-light casement window with diminished side-lights, while the upper storey has a range of five larger 18th-century casement windows. The ground storey boasts a fine early 19th-century shop front with six windows divided by panelled pilasters, featuring rounded heads and intersecting glazing bars in a Gothick style. Above this is a wooden fascia with a dentil cornice. The ground floor also includes a central 20th-century shop door and a six-panelled door on the right with panelled reveals.

Inside, the extensive and very high cellar is lined entirely with coursed ashlar blocks, which are thought to be re-used. The east wall has a narrow rectangular recess supported by a short section of a small rounded stone column, with the remains of a stone corbel above it. There are two stone blocks on the floor, set in line, with empty mortices likely intended for timber posts. The ground storey lacks original features, while the upper storey has boxed-in main beams. The original rear wall has been removed, and other walls are covered in 19th-century vertical boarding. The attic storey appears to be a complete early 18th-century addition, featuring framing with long primary braces, bisected studs, blocked window openings along the rear wall, and a clasped purlin roof with a ridge.