20, 20a and 21, West Street is a Grade II* listed building in the Waverley local planning authority area, England. First listed on 26 April 1950. Commercial.

20, 20a and 21, West Street

WRENN ID
first-buttress-torch
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Waverley
Constituency
Farnham and Bordon MP: Gregory Stafford (Con)
Country
England
Date first listed
26 April 1950
Type
Commercial
Address
20, 20a and 21, West Street, Farnham
OS grid reference
SU 837 467
Coordinates
51.21391, -0.80197
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Nos. 20, 20A, and 21 West Street are shops and offices that were originally a house. The building features an 18th-century front that has been refronted in red brick, with a timber-framed structure dating back to the 17th century or earlier. It has a tiled roof with two brick chimneystacks and stands three storeys tall with three windows. The second floor has six-pane sash windows, while the first floor has nine-pane sash windows. The ground floor of No. 20A features a bow shop front in the style of the early 20th century or early 19th century. No. 21 has a late 19th-century shop front, and No. 20 has a central late 18th-century or early 19th-century pedimented doorcase with brackets and reeded pilasters. The left side elevation displays two cambered casements and traces of 17th-century brickwork on the two lower floors.

Inside, No. 20 has some exposed framing, while No. 20A boasts a remarkable plaster ceiling from around 1645-1655. This ceiling was commissioned by the Earl of Shaftesbury for a small drawing room in St Giles' house near Wimborne in Dorset, where it can still be seen. It is believed that the Earl wanted to preview the design, leading the plasterer to create a half-scale model in his own living room. The ceiling features a deep profile with a central oval panel adorned with strapwork design, cherubs, shells, and two grotesque heads holding a swag. Surrounding this is a border of intricately carved fruit, encircled by oval guilloche moulding that branches into three panels on each side and two at each end, complete with brackets and circular designs. This ceiling represents a more rustic interpretation of Inigo Jones' ceilings from the 1630s.

Local climate

20, 20a and 21, West Street receives an average of 750 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 71% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 57% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 35 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 60% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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  4. 104, West Street Grade II* 26 m
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  6. 105 and 106, West Street Grade II 33 m
  7. The Adult Education Centre Grade II 33 m
  8. Boundary Walls to Numbers 14 and 15 (Along Church Passage) Grade II 43 m
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  10. Number 26 (Premises Occupied by A Maxwell Aylwin Friba) Grade II 52 m