1 and 2, The Walks

Former house, probably built in the early 18th century, and later divided into two cottages. It underwent some 19th-century modernisation associated with this subdivision. The building is timber-framed with sandstone footings. The ground floor is weatherboarded, while the upper levels are tile-hung. A brick stack and chimneyshaft are present, and the roof is covered with peg tiles.

The original house was likely constructed as a three-room lobby entrance plan house facing west onto Bird-in-Hand Street. An axial stack between the centre and right (south) rooms originally served back-to-back fireplaces. The right room was likely a parlour, the centre one a hall/kitchen, and a smaller, unheated service room was located at the left (north) end. The doorway to No. 1 now occupies the service room and part of the central hall/kitchen, while No. 2’s doorway is located in the south end, onto The Walks, occupying what was the parlour and part of the hall/kitchen.

The building is two storeys high, with attics in the roof space and a cellar beneath the south end. A lean-to addition extends to the rear (east side) and has an end corner stack.

The west front has a two-window arrangement serving No. 1, and a front doorway is located to the right of centre. The south front (No. 2) has a symmetrical two-window front and a central front doorway. All windows are old casements, containing rectangular panes on the ground floor and diamond-shaped panes on the first floor, all with leaded glass. The doorways have plain panelled doors sheltered by shallow timber hoods with moulded edges. The main roof is half-hipped on the left and hipped on the right (south) side, with a hip-roofed dormer window. A larder window is located at the north end, unglazed and covered by a timber trellis.

During a survey of No. 2, the ground floor fireplace was observed to have a brick surround with a chamfered oak lintel. The rooms on each floor have plain axial-joists. The roof structure consists of tie-beam trusses in an A-frame configuration, with staggered butt purlins.

The house appears to have been built after the adjacent Nos. 3-6 The Walks.

Nos. 1 and 2 The Walks is recognized as one of the exceptional buildings within the group that comprise Old Groombridge, representing a significant contribution to the area’s group value.