D M Sayer And Co E E Pilbeam The Saxon Bower

The Saxon Bower, located at No. 1A (D.M. Sayer & Co.) and No. 3 (E.E. Pilbeam) on Lenham High Street, is a shop row with first-floor accommodation. It dates from the early 15th century, with alterations from the 16th century and a façade and roof added in the mid to late 19th century. The building is timber-framed, featuring a combination of painted and gault brick on the façade, topped with a slate roof.

Originally, it had two open bays typical of Wealden houses, with No. 1A and the left half of No. 3 possibly having a further bay to the right. The two bays known as The Saxon Bower were rebuilt in the 16th century. The structure has two storeys and attics, with the eaves raised in the 19th century. The roof is continuous with the adjacent Post Office on the left, but the left gable of the Saxon Bower is tile-hung and visible from the interior.

There is a small red brick stack on the rear slope of the roof at the left end of No. 1A, and a larger rendered stack on the front slope of the roof towards the left end of No. 3. The building features three plain, irregularly spaced dormers and has an irregular arrangement of windows, including four glazing bar sashes and one canted bay on the first floor. The ground floor has four 19th-century shop fronts, with two belonging to No. 3.

The central shop front of The Saxon Bower includes a half-glazed door, while No. 1A has a half-glazed door to the right, and No. 3 has a half-glazed door at its centre, all with flat hoods featuring triglyphed friezes and paired modillions. Additionally, there is a further half-glazed door with a semi-circular head at the centre of No. 3, and a door to the right end of No. 3 with fielded panels and two top lights, also adorned with a frieze featuring triglyphs and paired modillions, and a flat hood.

Inside, the building has exposed timbers, with a very steeply cambered tie-beam supporting the central truss of the hall, ogee braces on the partition, and a large fireplace with moulded jambs and a bressumer. The interior has been partly inspected and was damaged by fire in the 1930s.