4 Water Lane

4 Water Lane

This is a brick house of modest size, listed Grade II. The front elevation faces east onto the street and is painted. The brickwork is laid in irregular Flemish bond, while the rear elevation is rendered. The roof is slate with a brick stack.

The building comprises a single room on each of the ground floor, first floor, and garret, with the stair positioned in the north-east corner. There are mid-20th century extensions to the rear (a lean-to spanning the width of the house) and a later toilet extension to the east; these are not included in the listing as they are of no special interest.

The street frontage has a single window to both ground and first floors, with a central dormer to the attic. The entrance is to the north, narrow, with a cambered arch and reached by a single step; the door is a 19th century replacement. Both main window openings have slightly cambered arches, with the first-floor arch being particularly slight. The ground-floor window contains eight-over-eight unhorned sash frames, probably dating from the early 19th century, set back within the opening. An additional outer groove in the sash box suggests the window formerly had sliding vertical shutters, though this may result from a new window being placed in the old sash box. Indentations for hinges indicate there were also hinged shutters at some point. The first-floor window has a similar eight-over-eight sash frame, also probably early 19th century. The parapet steps forward. The gable window frame is 20th century, probably within an earlier setting. Irregular brickwork below the ground-floor window may indicate the blocking-up of a cellar light. The rear elevation is rendered above the 20th century lean-to and shows a vertical indentation rising through the west side, reflected in the interior, possibly indicating partial rebuilding of this section. The stack, rising to the west between this building and No. 6 Water Lane, appears partially rebuilt, possibly in connection with work at No. 6. This rear elevation has two small central window openings lighting the stair enclosure on the first floor and the garret; both have replacement frames, with the upper one apparently part of a sash frame adapted to the space. The brick lean-to has a pantiled roof. The later toilet extension has a monopitched roof with corrugated metal covering.

Inside, the front door opens into the ground-floor room. There is a plain stone chimneypiece with timber shelf, thought to date from the early 19th century. To the right of the fireplace is a two-door cupboard incorporating adzed 18th century panels. A section of 19th century vertical boarded panelling covers the indentation on the back wall. The planked back door is probably 18th or early 19th century, with later small glazed opening and other alterations; the iron strap hinges and latch may be original despite the use of later screws. Carved on the north side of the door are the initials 'MT'. The skirting, found throughout much of the house, is probably early 19th century. A strip of applied dado rail and picture rail on the north wall are late 20th century. The stair, probably early 19th century, rises in the north-east corner enclosed by vertical boarded panelling with beaded edging to the boards; some panelling has been replaced in the 20th century. Beneath the stair on the ground floor is a cupboard with its original door. Much of the ground-floor stair panelling has been replaced, as has the door to the stair enclosure, possibly reusing the original hinges. The stair rises straight from the ground floor with winders in the north-east corner. On the first floor, the stair enclosure forms an angled partition with an opening into the first-floor room. This room contains an early 19th century timber chimneypiece with beaded detail to the opening; the shelf may be a replacement. The fireplace retains a 19th century Pantheon hob-grate. A moulded window surround has been added in the 19th century to the main window opening. An exposed beam and wall-plate in this room have been carved with chamfers and stops in the 20th century. On the attic floor, the stairwell is enclosed by a 20th century balustrade. In the attic room, the roof structure has been covered, though the wall-plate is exposed, as is part of the altered eastern truss. There is a small 19th century chimneypiece, probably with a later shelf. The chimneybreast is decorated with mid-20th century magazine covers; this decoration was completed in the late 20th century. The building's cellar has been filled in.