26 and 26a, East St Helen Street

Abingdon’s 26 and 26A East St Helen Street is a timber-framed house, dating back to approximately 1430, with tree-ring dates confirming construction between 1428 and 1431. The building has undergone alterations around the late 16th or early 17th century and again in the late 18th or early 19th century. The building combines timber framing, brick, and stone construction, topped with a plain tile roof and brick axial stacks.

The original design was a hall house with cross-wings that projected into the open hall and were jettied at the front. The cross-wings also extend to the rear, formerly linked by a first-floor gallery. A floor was inserted into the open hall in the late 16th or early 17th century. In the late 18th or early 19th century, the north cross-wing was rebuilt, and a carriageway was created through the ground storey of the hall.

The building is two storeys high. The first floor is jettied, with three bays featuring gables to the left and right (the left gable being wider). The first floor has modern casements with leaded panes, with a small light flanking the left gable. Cusped tracery wooden lights are set into the returns of the right-hand gable. A gabled dormer is centrally positioned. On the ground floor, a carriageway is located to the left of centre, with a 16-pane sash window to the left and right, accompanied by shutters. A small 8-pane window sits immediately to the right of the carriageway. The rear features a gallery over the central carriageway, showcasing twelve lights with cusped tracery. The south wing is jettied on its inner north side, while the wing on the right is built of stone rubble.

The interior retains roofs with cambered collars and arch bracing below, and wind-braces. The hall’s trusses were originally filled with wattle and daub to direct smoke from the open hearth to a louvre above. A panelling ceiling can be observed within a ground floor room at the rear of the south wing, and the chamber above features mid-16th century mural paintings on the west and south walls, depicting red and white vertical stripes and a floral design. Original stone fireplaces remain.