497, 499, AND 501, LOWER RAINHAM ROAD

Nos. 497, 499, and 501 on Lower Rainham Road are three houses that originally functioned as a house and later as a shop. The building dates from the late 15th century and was remodeled in the 17th century, with additional rear ranges added and alterations made in the mid to late 19th century. It features a timber-framed structure with roughcast walls, brick external end and rear stacks, and a tiled hipped roof.

The layout is that of an open hall house, with a high end cross-wing at No. 499, which was remodeled with an inserted floor and stacks in the 17th century. The exterior is two storeys high and consists of a five-window range. No. 497 has a right-hand 20th-century door, with 6/6-pane windows on the ground floor and tripartite sash windows on the first floor. No. 499 features a central door with a small canopy, flanked by a 19th-century small-paned shop window with a cornice and paired casements on the first floor. No. 501 has a central doorway with a mid-20th-century door, tripartite flanking ground-floor windows, and a central and left-hand 2/2-pane sash window. The right-hand return displays a large stack with offsets on each side, small flanking windows, and a rear hipped 19th-century porch, along with a left-hand rear extension.

The interior reportedly includes an undershot cross passage with one service door still visible, a fine crown post with an octagonal post and cap, and a square base. A moulded low end beam remains, and a staircase was added with a floor inserted in the 17th century.