2 and 2a, Abbey Street

A house and flat, dating from the 15th and 16th centuries, that was raised and substantially remodelled around 1830. The building is constructed of coursed limestone rubble, with a gabled stone slate roof and stone end stacks. It has a three-unit plan and is arranged over two storeys and an attic, with a three-window front. Keyed flat stone arches, largely concrete-rendered, feature above an early 19th-century four-panelled door with overlight, along with early 19th-century eight-pane sash windows and a single four-pane sash above the door. Gabled dormers have 20th-century casements. Number 2A, to the left, has a similar keyed arch above a 20th-century door and timber lintels over 20th-century windows. An outshut to the rear was heightened in the 20th century. The interior includes a remodelled open fireplace with chamfered stone jambs on the right-hand side, and an early 19th-century staircase with stick balusters. The first floor was not inspected. A drawing from 1826 by J.C. Buckler depicts a lower, two-storey late medieval or 16th-century building; the eaves pitch of this earlier structure can still be observed in the right gable wall. This drawing is held at the Bodleian Library, Oxford (M.S. Top, Oxon, c.551, f.113).