16, High Street

No 16 High Street is a house that has been converted into a shop. It dates back to the 15th century and was refronted in the late 19th century. The building has a timber frame with mostly brick infill and an old tile roof on the main section. The front features painted brick and a grey slate roof from the 19th century. The structure has three bays separated by closed trusses, with the central (hall) and rear (kitchen) bays open to the roof, which shows heavy smoke blackening, suggesting the presence of open hearths. The front bay may have been originally built as a storied space. The facade is two storeys high, featuring two windows with glazing bar sashes, and a 20th-century shop front on the ground floor. The hipped end of the main roof rises above the ridge of the 19th-century front roof, which is oriented at right angles to the original. Inside, many principal elements of the timber frame are exposed at the first floor level. The trusses include cambered tie beams and collars with broad crown studs that support clasped purlins. The central bay has wind-braces in the plane of the rafters, with one brace still intact. The roof is half-hipped over the rear (kitchen) bay, featuring a small gablet that may serve as a vent. This building is an essentially complete small medieval house, making it an unusual survival in an urban setting.