Shakespeare House And Path Between Front Door And High Street

Shakespeare House is a house or possibly a former cloth hall, dating from the late 16th century and 18th century, with restoration in the 20th century. It features a timber frame with rendered infilling and consists of three timber-framed bays arranged at right angles to the road, with an 18th-century timber-framed bay parallel to the street on the right. The building has two tall storeys and a garret, while the right section has two lower storeys. The 16th-century section is close-studded and has a deep moulded fascia board across the midrail. There is a single central stud and a straight brace in the right section. The gable of the 16th-century section is rendered and has plain bargeboards, a high cambered collar with short solid-spandrel arch-braces, and curved ashlar pieces. A brick stack is located on the left slope of the roof above the central bay of the 16th-century section, with a slender stack at the right end of the right section. The windows are irregularly fenestrated with leaded glass. The 16th-century section features a central first-floor 8-light mullioned and transomed window with a deep cill, flanked by smaller 2-light windows with rounded heads, and similar windows on the ground floor. There is a 4-light mullioned window in the attic and a 3-light leaded casement on the first floor of the right section. A ribbed door with a flat bracketed hood is located at the left end of the right section. The interior has not been inspected but is said to have an unusual roof structure. A path made of Bethersden marble slabs leads from the front door to the High Street.