25 and 25a Market Place (former Red Lion Public House and part of Belinda Bakers)

Former 18th-century public house (number 25, now vacant) joined with a former retail unit with a 19th-century frontage but possible earlier core (number 25a, formerly number 27). Both buildings have 19th and 20th-century alterations. At the time of inspection in March 2022, the building was undergoing exterior and interior renovation with some elements rebuilt.

Materials and Construction

Both buildings are brick, mostly 18th-century in date for number 25 and probably early 19th-century for 25a, with rendered frontages painted over at the east gable end of number 25. Both have plain clay-tile roofs.

Plan

Number 25, the former public house, has a two-room plan in the front pile with service rooms in the rear pile. The ground floor was opened up in the 20th century with differing levels introduced but remains broadly legible. To the east is a vehicular entrance or carriageway with a room over. Number 25a (formerly number 27) was probably built as a house but was in commercial use at the time of listing. It has a one-room plan and was joined with number 25 in the mid-20th century.

Exterior

Number 25 is two storeys and three bays with a one-bay room over the carriageway at the east side. The roof is double-pile with two rebuilt end stacks; the rear pile is hipped at both ends and incorporates number 25a at its west end. The front elevation has a central main entrance with a four-panelled door and an 18th-century doorcase with panelled pilasters, roundel capitals and cut brackets supporting an open pediment. On either side at ground floor are wide 19th-century six-over-six sashes with horns beneath slightly tented hoods. An additional entrance is at the north-east corner. At the first floor are narrower window openings, probably original, with six-over-six horned sash windows. The upper part of the front elevation was partially rebuilt in 2022.

The gated carriageway has granite setts and brick paviours. Above is a single-bay room beneath a pitched roof set slightly higher than the main range, with the front cantilever supported on timber brackets and axial bridging beams exposed on the soffit. This room has a wide tri-partite bay window of two-over-two sashes to the front; additional structural steels have been added to stabilise the window, cantilever and roof structure. The east gable end of the 18th-century inn is exposed in the passageway at ground floor level. The bricks are overpainted but appear to be narrow and laid in stretcher bond. Two 20th-century windows and one door with straight brick lintels are inserted into this wall; at the rear, the wall is corbelled for ease of vehicular movement.

The rear elevation of number 25 has a 19th-century outshot and later bay window with uPVC windows at ground floor. Rich red narrow brick laid in stretcher bond is exposed above with three flush sash windows of six-over-six panes, probably late 18th or early 19th-century in date. The room over the carriageway has a gabled roof and a 20th-century window at first-floor level, clad with weatherboard and hung slate.

Number 25a has two bays and is two storeys with an attic. The frontage has a part-glazed entrance door at the left side with a square margin light over. To the right of the entrance is a pair of eight-over-eight horned sash windows beneath a 19th-century shop surround and likely blind box. Above are two smaller six-over-six sash windows. Above the cornice is a brick parapet, rebuilt in the 21st century, and a pitched roof; the attic has a small hipped-roof dormer with a sash window. The rear elevation is in orange brick, probably early 19th-century in date. At ground floor, the rear extension along the west boundary wall has been removed and the door into the building blocked; to the right is a six-over-six sash window beneath a segmental head.

Interior

As a result of renovation, the front-pile roof structure of number 25 has been replaced like-for-like; structural-steel bracing has been inserted at the partition walls at first floor and above; the floor frames have been strengthened throughout; most internal finishes, fixtures and fittings have been removed except where noted.

The ground floor of number 25 is open-plan. At the party wall with number 25a is a remodelled brick fireplace with bresumer. The beer cellar to the rear has axial bridging beams. The original location of the 18th-century stair is unclear, but the current main stairs, located between the front and rear piles, are quarter-turn and late 19th-century. On the first-floor landing is a glazed screen and some wall panelling. The front-pile roof structure has been replaced like-for-like; the 18th-century roof timbers are stored on site. The rear-pile roof structure is a pegged 'A' frame with collars and purlins; some carpenters' marks are visible; additional timber has been inserted for structural reasons.

In number 25a the stairs from ground floor were removed probably when the property was joined with the public house. The openings inserted in the party wall have been filled with blockwork. On the first floor the stairs are narrow dog-leg with simple banisters, though the cupboard and door noted in the heritage statement do not appear to be present. In the attic room some plaster-and-lathe panels remain, with the simple 'A' frame roof structure partly exposed where the plaster has come away.