Kingfisher

Kingfisher is a house located on Couching Street in Watlington, dating from the mid to late 16th century and remodelled in the mid to late 18th century. Originally timber-framed, the 18th-century front is constructed of Flemish bond brick with flared headers, topped by a gabled old tile roof and lacking a chimney stack. The house has a two-unit plan and stands two storeys tall with a two-window range. There is a timber lintel over a 20th-century door on the left, and gauged brick flat arches above mid to late 19th-century ground-floor sash windows, with similar horned sashes on the first floor. A raised storey band and a 19th-century moulded wood cornice are also present.

Inside, the house features quartered chamfered beams, and the first floor has two studs from a transverse timber partition. The roof is a collar-truss design with clasped purlins and curved windbraces, forming part of a three-bay roof that extends over the adjacent property, No. 56 (Cherry Pie).

The shop, which is part of the building, dates from the early 18th century and was remodelled in the mid to late 19th century. It has rendered walls, a hipped old tile roof, and a brick ridge stack, though the original plan form is unclear. The shop also has two storeys and a two-window range, featuring a 20th-century shop front and horned first-floor sashes on the front and left sides. The interior includes chamfered and stopped beams, and while the first floor was not inspected, it is likely to be of interest.