London House the Crypt Antiques

London House The Crypt Antiques is a house with shop premises dating from the late 15th century, which has been altered in the early 19th century and restored. The building features an exposed timber frame with plastered infill and a hipped stone slate roof, with part of the south side being stone-clad. It has a double jettied first floor that is underbuilt, and it stands three storeys tall on a vaulted undercroft. The second floor is jettied and has an underbuilt oriel bay on the first floor.

On the second floor, there are a pair of mid-19th century wide-pane sash windows set in timber-frame outer bays, which also have blind Tudor-arched openings, including one on the north return. The first floor features a rectangular oriel bay with early to mid-19th century glazing bar sashes, flanked by two-light blocked windows with cinquefoiled designs. The shop front, which is boxed out and has a slated lean-to, sits on an ashlar plinth that includes an opening to the undercroft. The forecourt is cobbled.

The rear of the building has an L-plan layout with a cross-wing to the east. According to the Buildings of England, there is a pargetted panel in the rear wing dated "A.H.1710". The plastered timber-frame is set on a heavily moulded plinth, featuring a wide chamfered eaves overhang and a four-light window on the ground floor right, which has paired glazing bar sashes and outer medieval lights.

Inside, the building boasts an excellent L-plan vaulted undercroft with Tudor-arched quadripartite chamfered ribs and an octagonal pier in the four-bay front section. There are two openings to the west, one leading to the shop and the other to the street, with stairs in the angle accessed from the two-bay part. Most bays contain aumbries. The high ground floor has an archway to the rear, which is now obstructed by a stair turret, and features early 18th-century dog-leg stairs.

On the first floor, there is an impressive fireplace with a moulded flat-headed surround adorned with seven quatrefoils in the frieze. The rear wing contains early 18th-century panelling, which is complete on the ground floor and includes a corner fireplace, with extensive panelling on the first floor. The hipped roof of the rear wing reuses earlier timber, including one side of a raised cruck. The front roof structure consists of two bays with two purlins and two rows of wind-braces, while the L-wing roof structure shows some evidence of smoke blackening.