20 and 20a, Hatter Street

Nos. 20 and 20A on Hatter Street is a house that has been divided into two shops on the ground floor, with separate living accommodation above. The building dates from the 16th and 17th centuries, with alterations made in the 18th and 19th centuries. It features a timber-framed structure that is rendered, topped with a plain tiled roof that has twin gables facing the street. The building has an L-shaped plan with a long rear wing.

The exterior is two storeys high with attics and a cellar in part. It has a four-window range, featuring 12-pane sash windows in moulded flush cased frames, topped with a coved and moulded stucco cornice. Each of the twin gables has plain bargeboards, 19th-century hanging finials, and 2-light square-leaded 18th-century casement windows. The ground floor includes an off-centre 18th-century entrance door with six sunk panels and partial glazing, set within a doorcase that has plain reveals, a moulded and eared architrave, a cornice, and a triangular pediment. To the left of the door is a 12-pane sash window, and to the right is a double shop front in an early 19th-century style, which was inserted in the mid-20th century.

Inside, the cellar below No. 20A is lined with old brick and features three arched openings and a timber ceiling. No. 20 extends into a long rear range with varying ceiling heights compared to No. 20A. The rear range consists of two phases: one from the 16th century with two bays, and the other from the 17th century, connected by a chimney stack. On the first storey, the 16th-century section retains the remains of studding for the former end wall, including the frame of a three-light original window with small square mortices for moulded mullions and a rebate for a shutter. This window is blocked by a 17th-century chimney stack, with three further timber-framed bays beyond it, featuring trusses with tie-beams and long arched braces. No. 20A has main ceiling beams with a double ogee moulding in the shop area, and the walls have flush panels with bolection moulded surrounds. The attic rooms on the street frontage contain old 2-light casement windows with square leaded panes and ornate wrought-iron fittings.